Family of Ann Maguire lose High Court challenge to call evidence from pupils

Mrs Maguire's husband Don, children and nephews wanted the coroner's decision not to call evidence from pupils who had contact with her schoolboy killer immediately before the murder to be reconsidered.

Published 14th Aug 2017
Last updated 14th Aug 2017

Dismissing the claim for judicial review, the judge said: I have much sympathy for the claimants, and I fully understand their reasons for wishing to pursue this line of inquiry.

For the reasons I have given, however, I am unable to accept the submission that the assistant coroner reached a decision which was so seriously flawed as to be ...unreasonable.'

An inquest into Mrs Maguire's death is due to take place before a jury at Wakefield Coroner's Court in November.

The 61-year-old teacher was stabbed in the back by 15-year-old Will Cornick as she taught a Spanish class at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds in April 2014.

Cornick was later sentenced to life with a minimum term of 20 years.

A statement has been released on behalf of the family. Yogi Amin, Partner at law firm Irwin Mitchell representing the family, said: “Ann Maguire’s family will now take stock and discuss the options with their legal team. They remain committed to finding out the truth and exactly what happened on the day Ann was killed through a thorough, open and fair process. They believe it is the only way that lessons will be learned from the incident."