Sensitive police files must be finalised before Katie Simpson inquest moves forward

Resolving redactions in police materials is “key to unlocking future progress”, the inquest investigating the death of showjumper Katie Simpson has heard.

Ms Simpson, 21, from Tynan, Co Armagh, died at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry almost a week after an incident in Gortnessy Meadows, Lettershandoney, Co Derry, on August 3 2020.

Police originally thought it was a suicide, but the following year Jonathan Creswell, the partner of Ms Simpson’s sister, was arrested on suspicion of murder.

The trial of Creswell, 36, for murder ended in April last year after his sudden death.

Ms Simpson’s death is due to be examined at an inquest by coroner Joe McCrisken.

A pre-inquest review last year heard there were 352 police files to be examined, with between 25,000 and 29,000 pages, including 44 police reports, 77 transmission files, a list of 165 exhibits, 237 statements and 53 interview files.

Philip Henry KC, legal counsel to the coroner, said there is an “issue arising from the Sexual Offences Act 1992” that had been flagged to them by police and that Mr McCrisken had ruled that his counsel should attempt to contact people named as potential victims of sexual offences.

Mr Henry said they had been able to make contact with “some of those individuals… but not all”.

He told the inquest on Friday: “It’s my respectful submission to you, sir, that you can’t finalise any ruling on this redaction issue until either you’ve heard back from all, or exhausted reasonable efforts to make contact with them all.

“I really see that as the key to unlocking future progress because until the redaction issue is resolved, the redactions of the police material which will form the bulk of the inquest papers, that can’t be finalised.”

Mr Henry added: “We have a couple of applications pending which rely on providing PIPs (properly interested persons) with a significant amount of disclosure.”

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He said his legal team has reviewed sensitive materials that are potentially relevant to the inquest and the PSNI will be able to review.

Mark Robinson KC, representing the PSNI, said there is not a “large amount of documentation” but there are “sensitivities” included, and gave a timeline of eight weeks for the marking-up process.

The next pre-inquest review hearing was scheduled for the second week of May.