The High Court in Manchester dismissed an appeal by two Scout leaders seeking to overturn the unlawful killing verdict in the death of 16-year-old Ben Leonard, who fell to his death during a Scout trip in 2018. Ben's mother, Jackie, expressed her disappointment that the Scout Association still appears unwilling to accept responsibility for their son's death.
His mother had bid him farewell, believing he would be safe on the journey to Llandudno, but sadly, he never returned.
The Scout Association denied requesting a judicial review and stated they have implemented 'a significant number of changes to improve our safety policies and procedures' in the wake of the tragedy, reports the Manchester Evening News. "This has been a part of our lives now for six-and-a-half years. Going to court, having the pain dragged up again and people all trying to blame him.
During the inquest, the Scout leader on the trip, Sean Glaister, refused to answer a series of questions from Ben Richmond KC, lawyer for Fieldfisher, the law firm representing Ben's family. Mary Carr was identified as the assistant Scout leader on the trip. During the inquest, the Scout leader on the trip, Sean Glaister, declined to answer a series of questions from Ben Richmond KC, lawyer for Fieldfisher, the law firm representing Ben's family. Mary Carr was named as the assistant Scout leader on the trip.
Coroner David Pojur revealed he had written a 'prevention of further deaths' report which outlined a series of failures including, the inquest heard, that there was 'no effective leadership' in the group that day and that TSA had given a 'misleading impression' of its actions after the death.
She is now actively campaigning with three other families who have tragically lost their sons during Scouts trips: Lee Craddock, 11, Scott Fanning, 11, and Jack Saunders, 21, who passed away on various expeditions between 1995 and 2018. With the Scouts association's statistics indicating that around 500,000 youngsters and 145,000 adults engage weekly in Scouting initiatives, the concern over safety is paramount.
Highlighting concerns about oversight, Jackie questioned: "Who is checking these safety policies and procedures? They are looking after half a million children and I believe they should be regulated by an outside body. Nobody should ever have to go through what we've been through."
SCOUTS UNLAWFUL KILLING INQUEST APPEAL HIGH COURT
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