Senior judge appointed new chair of Sheku Bayoh inquiry

A senior judge has been confirmed as the new chair of the public inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh.

Lord Colbeck will take over from Lord Bracadale who stood down last year after the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) questioned his impartiality.

He previously presided over the fatal accident inquiry into the 2013 Clutha helicopter crash in Glasgow.

In a statement, Bayoh's family described Lord Colbeck as a "no-nonsense" judge who acts "without fear or favour".

The SPF said Lord Colbeck would bring a reputation for "balanced and impartial decision-making".

Bayoh, a father-of-two, was 31 when he died in May 2015 after being restrained by six police officers on a street in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

The public inquiry was set up to examine what happened before, during and after his death and whether race was a factor.

Lord Bracadale, a former judge, led the inquiry from November 2020 until October last year.

He resigned after the SPF pushed for a judicial review over his role due to concerns about private meetings with Bayoh's family.

Lord Bracadale said the meetings had been to "obtain and retain their confidence in the Inquiry and their engagement with it".

But the SPF, which represents rank and file officers including those involved in the probe, said the meetings had contributed to a loss of confidence in the "fairness of the conduct and procedure" of the inquiry.

Bayoh's family said the SPF now had to "back" the inquiry through to the end.

Their lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said: "Lord Colbeck has a formidable reputation, a no nonsense judge, with a distinguished career who acts without fear or favour.

"It will be no simple task for the chair to take over the reins of Lord Bracadale, but the evidence has been heard, can be seen and read - it is time to restart the stopwatch.

"The family have no doubt that the new chair will be impartial and robust and hope he can win the confidence of the legal team and assessors to return, but also that he will continue to treat the family with compassion, respect and empathy as Lord Bracadale did."

Anwar added a new timetable must be set as soon as possible to allow parties to prepare their closing submissions.

The SPF said its members involved in the probe deserved to be "treated with dignity and afforded due process".

General secretary David Kennedy added: "We are confident that under Lord Colbeck's leadership, the inquiry will remain focused on establishing facts and learning lessons – rather than assigning blame.

"We believe his appointment provides continuity, stability, and a clear pathway toward concluding the important work that remains."

In a resignation letter to deputy first minister Kate Forbes, Lord Bracadale said many of the "core participants" involved in the probe had "lost confidence" in his conduct.

Senior counsel to the inquiry Angela Graham KC, Laura Thomson KC and Jason Beer KC resigned two days later, as did junior counsel Rachel Barrett and Sarah Loosemore.

It is hard to imagine Scotland's judges would have been falling over themselves to take on this unenviable task.

The events surrounding the death of Sheku Bayoh and its aftermath are contentious and complex.

After five years of work, at a cost of more than £50m to the public purse, Lord Bracadale was forced to resign at the eleventh hour.

Lord Colbeck will have to review a huge body of oral and written evidence, consider closing submissions then publish conclusions.

If he can get this inquiry back on track - and keep everyone on side until it has crossed the finishing line - he will have performed a public service of no little importance.

Bayoh's family said they felt "totally betrayed" by the criminal justice system following the decision.

They met with First Minister John Swinney in November.

Swinney said the appointment of a new chair to lead the inquiry was being handled by the deputy first minister after the meeting.

Lawyers for the SPF said the offer should be extended to officers involved in the inquiry, which Swinney agreed to.

That meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday.

Bayoh was born in Sierra Leone before coming to the UK in 1995.

He later moved to Fife on the invitation of his sister.

On 3 May 2015 he was restrained by police officers on Hayfield Road in Kirkcaldy after he was allegedly spotted carrying a knife and behaving erratically.

He was not carrying the knife when officers arrived at the scene, but police said one was recovered close to where he was restrained.

During the struggle, Bayoh lost consciousness and later died in hospital.

The inquiry was set up up to examine the circumstances around his death, the aftermath and the police investigation.

It is also considering whether race was a factor in the incident.

The inquiry has so far cost £26.2m, with an additional £24.3m spent by Police Scotland, including £17.3m of legal costs.

All of the evidence to the inquiry has been presented, with the next stage due to hear closing submissions.

Lord Colbeck will then prepare the final report, though there is no date for that.