KATE Forbes must make a decision on the Sheku Bayoh inquiry or step down as Deputy First Minister, the lawyer representing his family has said.
Aamer Anwar, one of Scotland’s most prominent human rights lawyers, said that Bayoh’s family had met with Forbes in the summer and written to her four times since then requesting that she expand the terms of reference for the inquiry into his death.
Bayoh died in police custody after being restrained by officers in Kirkcaldy in 2015. In 2019, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said that no prosecutions would be brought forward.
Bayoh’s family have been pushing for the ongoing inquiry to be expanded to include a probe into the COPFS decision not to prosecute any of the officers involved.
In a statement issued through Anwar on Thursday, the family raised concerns that the inquiry has been suspended, while Forbes delays making a decision on whether or not to expand its remit.
They said: “This family are entitled to answers as to how and why public bodies took the decisions it took in relation to the death of their son, brother, friend, uncle Sheku Bayoh.
“After all the work that has been done, after a nine-year struggle by the loved ones of Sheku Bayoh, for these final critical questions not to be answered as we almost reach the end, would be unconscionable. Unanswered questions do not go away, they fester and they grow and act against the public interest.
“With respect if Kate Forbes cannot make a decision, then she should step aside and let someone else fulfil the promises made to the Bayohs by the Scottish Government that the truth will prevail.
“With all the information before Kate Forbes, the family wonder how much more time she requires to make a decision, she is not simply prolonging the agony of the Bayoh family, but is prolonging repeated betrayals of justice by the Crown Office.”
Their statement went on: “After two years of evidence the family believe: There was a fundamental failure by Crown Office to understand factual evidence; There was a fundamental failure by provision of flawed and biased instructions to expert witnesses; There was a total failure to examine the issue of race and that has been proven by the evidence of the former lord advocate James Wolffe and all those who gave evidence before him.
“We consider these will be integral factors to the decision not to prosecute and so the only way of determining whether that decision was flawed, would be to allow the public inquiry to examine it.”
A spokesperson for the COPFS said in 2019: “Following careful consideration and thorough review of all the available evidence, including submissions made on behalf of the family of the deceased, independent Crown counsel has concluded there should not be a prosecution in this case.
“The family have been provided with detailed information about this decision and the review process.
“Although the evidence currently available would not justify criminal proceedings, the Crown reserves the right to prosecute should evidence in support of that become available.
“The Crown is committed to ensuring that all the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Bayoh are fully aired in an appropriate legal forum.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Following the family’s request to extend the inquiry’s terms of reference, the Scottish Government started the process of gathering views, including consulting with the chair of the inquiry.
“All relevant matters will be given full and careful consideration. This work is ongoing and a decision will be made as soon as possible.”
