Campaigners have vowed to take the Attorney General to the High Court over his refusal to order a new inquest into the 1973 Summerland Fire Disaster.
The Justice for Summerland Campaign has labelled the decision “deplorable” and “disgraceful.”
In a letter outlining his reasons, the Attorney General Walter Wannenburgh KC acknowledged over 30 “inadequacies and failings” in the original investigation but deemed them insufficient to warrant reopening the case.
Campaigners have fiercely rejected this, insisting the scale of the tragedy, which claimed 50 lives, demands justice.
“We would like to make it very clear that those we believe to be culpable for a fire of this magnitude and devastation are those responsible for the design, construction, and management of an unsafe leisure complex,” a spokesperson said.
They also criticised the Attorney General for implying their campaign was the first to challenge the original inquest’s findings.
“We know that bereaved families and others affected have been asking questions since 1974—this has included residents of the Isle of Man,” they added.
The government had the chance to “right this miscarriage of justice,” campaigners said, but the Attorney General “has made the disgraceful decision not to do so.”
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