Lawyers acting for campaigners who want a fresh inquest into the Summerland fire have said the Isle of Man’s Attorney General was wrong to refuse their request.
Belfast-based Phoenix Law, representing Justice for Summerland, has issued pre-action correspondence arguing the original 1973 inquests into the 50 deaths were “flawed and perfunctory,” delivering “bland and uninformative conclusions.”
In a letter the firm accused Walter Wannenburgh KC of misapplying the legal test under the Coroners Inquests Act 1987, stating he “misinterpreted English & Welsh jurisprudence” by wrongly combining “necessary” and “desirable” thresholds.
The letter claims the decision “has been infected by the application of the English & Welsh test,” which sets a higher bar than Manx law.
The challenge also disputes the AG’s definition of “misadventure,” citing recent rulings to argue it wrongly suggested the victims took foreseeable risks.
“No reasonable human being could deduce that by merely attending Summerland, there was a foreseeable risk they would die in a fire,” the letter states.
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