40 YEARS Project Overview Over the next year, we will be marking 40 Years of unlocking the truth at INQUEST. A unique heritage project that includes archiving, oral history, public events and a photography exhibition, it aims to conserve, circulate and celebrate the ground-breaking work of the charity and connected family campaigns over the past four decades. It is an important opportunity to reflect on long term progress (which is not always easy to see), as well as highlight the continued struggle for truth, justice and accountability. We are collaborating with the Bishopsgate Institute, who will house the physical archive, providing public access (although certain files will be closed due to confidentially) to 40+ years of documentation around state-related deaths, family campaigns, and crucial political and legal changes. A fitting home for the INQUEST archive, Bishopsgate’s Special Collections and Archives document the experiences of everyday people, and the extraordinary individuals and organisations who have fought for social, political and cultural change. On the Record will be supporting the oral history side of the project. We will work together to create a diverse, original and accessible oral record of INQUEST's 40-year history by interviewing founders, staff, board members, bereaved families, affiliated lawyers, journalists and activists. Specialists in oral history, co-production and creative media, On the Record will support INQUEST in its aims to both document and use innovative ways to tell our 40-year history, by providing bespoke training to family members and supporters. 40 Years Steering Group We would like to thank the members of our Steering Group who will be advising us throughout the project. Kevin Blowe Coordinator, Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) Member of INQUEST's Board of Trustees Kevin was an INQUEST staff member in the late 1990s. He is currently the coordinator for the Network for Police Monitoring, a coalition that brings together many of the UK's most experienced campaigners, lawyers and researchers to highlight and challenge public order policing that violates rights to freedom of assembly. For twenty-five years, Kevin was an activist and volunteer for the Newham Monitoring Project, an east London anti-racist organisation. He was also the secretary of the United Families & Friends Campaign between 1999 and 2009 and active in the family campaigns in support of the relatives of Jean Charles de Menezes and Ian Tomlinson. Ruth Bundey Partner, Harrison Bundey Solicitors Member of INQUEST's Board of Trustees Ruth’s background is in race relations and criminal defence. Her first inquest experience led to winning the right for inquests to be held into the deaths of British nationals abroad. She continued to represent families from 1990 onwards following deaths in custody, despite a lack of funding, and acted in the Jamieson inquest where further higher court proceedings led to verdict restrictions. She still represents Janet Alder whose brother Christopher died on the floor of Hull Police Station, and continues to act in prison and police station deaths. She was recently involved in the Hillsborough Inquests on behalf of three families. Jeni Pinto Edmunds Community Organiser Jeni Pinto Edmunds is a former employee of INQUEST. Now working at Stonewall, she is looking forward to returning to support this important historical project in the 40th Anniversary steering group. Outside of this she works freelance in events, music, and film and spends her spare time community organising with police monitoring and other human rights groups. Professor Paul Gilroy Professor of the Humanities, UCL Paul Gilroy is Professor of Humanities at UCL and co-director of the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the study of racism and racialisation. He has been writing about British politics since the early 1980s. Simon Israel Previous Home Affairs Correspondent, Channel 4 News Simon Israel was the Channel 4 News senior correspondent for 25 years, although now officially retired he is still an occasional contributor. He specialised in reporting on terrorism, immigration, prisons, police, social and racial issues. Over the years, there’ve been numerous exclusives and awards which include G20 protests, Stephen Lawrence murder, Victoria Climbie Inquiry, prison suicides and self harm, Windrush and police misconduct. Simon is also a media consultant for MigrantVoice. Jennifer Nadel Writer and Campaigner Member of INQUEST's Board of Trustees Jennifer Nadel qualified as a barrister before becoming a campaigning journalist. She has reported for the BBC, Channel Four News and was ITV's Home Affairs Editor. Her book on Sara Thornton was made into a documentary and a BBC film and her report on the use of rape as a weapon of war in the former Yugoslavia was used by UN war crimes investigators. She is now a full-time writer and campaigner. Nicole-Rachelle Moore Curator of Caribbean Collections, British Library Nicole-Rachelle Moore is the British Library’s Curator of its Caribbean Collections. She has led courses on Andrea Levy and Toni Morrison, and worked closely with New Beacon Books and the George Padmore Institute. She co-edited Dream To Change the World on the life of John La Rose and contributed to the recently-published, In Search of Mami Wata: Narratives and Images of African Water Spirits. Marcia Rigg Activist and Family Campaigner Member of INQUEST's Family Reference Group Marcia Rigg is the sister of Sean Rigg, who was a 40-year-old father, musician and mentor in the Brixton community, who died within an hour of being arrested and restrained by local police officers in 2008. A political activist, Marcia has highlighted and campaigned vigorously about the critical issues of mental health and policing in the UK, for the urgent implementation of recommendations, and for a fair, transparent and robust judicial process following deaths in state custody. Marcia works closely with many other families who have been traumatised by their shared experience and lack of justice and accountability for the death of their loved one. Marcia speaks both nationally and internationally, contributes to various UK reviews and governmental committees, and gives workshops to students. Marcia is also one of the 100 Great Black Britons in the UK 2020. Professor Sara Ryan Professor of Social Care, Manchester Metropolitan University and Family Campaigner Sara Ryan is a Professor of Social Care at Manchester Metropolitan University, and her research focuses on learning disability, autism and regulatory processes relating to death and harm in health and social care. Sara is the mother of Connor Sparrowhawk, also known as Laughing Boy or LB, a young man who died a preventable death aged 18 in 2013, an NHS unit. Sara was a key figure in the #JusticeForLB campaign to gain answers and accountability for Connor’s death. Professor Joe Sim Professor of Criminology, Liverpool John Moores University Member of INQUEST's Board of Trustees Joe Sim Is Professor of Criminology and Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Crime, Criminalisation and Social Exclusion at Liverpool John Moores University. He was a member of Radical Alternatives to Prison and has written a number of books on prisons including British Prisons (with Mike Fitzgerald), Medical Power in Prisons and Punishment and Prisons. Marcia Willis Stewart KC Director, Birnberg Peirce Ltd Marcia Willis Stewart QC (Hon), is an award-winning civil rights lawyer and a Director of the renowned Birnberg Peirce Ltd law firm. Willis Stewart has championed legal aid and has represented families in challenging and high-profile cases against the state. She represented the family of Mark Duggan at his inquest and has continued to act for them in all associated matters over the past 11 years. Marcia was the lead lawyer for the legal team acting on behalf of 77 of the 97 families of the deceased at the Hillsborough Inquests. Marcia currently represents many of the Bereaved, Survivors and former Residents of the Grenfell Tower fire. Her sterling work has been recognised with numerous awards; most recently the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year individual Winner of Winners Award 2022.