Today, the Home Secretary has announced that Lord Hughes of Ombersley will chair the inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, who died in July 2018 following exposure to the nerve agent Novichok.
The inquiry will commence on 17 March 2022.
Lord Hughes' appointment follows the earlier announcement of the inquiry in November 2021 and the appointment of Baroness Hallett to chair the forthcoming inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic.
Baroness Hallett is currently serving as coroner in the inquest into the death of Dawn Sturgess, which will be suspended after the establishment of the inquiry. The inquiry will then be undertaken by Lord Hughes alone as chair, and the inquiry's investigations will be a matter for the chair.
Lord Hughes is a former judge of the Supreme Court, as well as a Lord Justice of Appeal and Vice President of the Criminal Division.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said:
We will be establishing an inquiry to ensure that all the relevant evidence can be considered. I hope that the family of Dawn Sturgess will get the answers they need and deserve, and my thoughts are with them.
I want to express my gratitude to Baroness Hallett for her work as coroner and to further thank Lord Hughes for agreeing to take on the role of chair.
Lord Hughes served as a Justice of the Supreme Court from April 2013 to August 2018, and is now retired. He was Treasurer of Inner Temple in 2019 and is on the list of arbitrators at the London Court of International Arbitration. He is one of the coordinators of the judiciary/science cooperation project operated via the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh.
