(Title Image: BBC Wales)
On 5th September, it was confirmed that the final, QC-led, inquiry into the Carl Sargeant affair has been suspended following a request for a judicial review submitted the High Court by the Sargeant family.
In an interview to Wales Online in August, Carl’s widow, Bernie Sargeant, said she had concerns over how the inquiry was being approached by the Welsh Government. Her concerns focused on the involvement of the First Minister and the Permanent Secretary in the drafting of the protocol governing the inquiry and a bar on the family’s solicitors from being able to question witnesses.
She told Wales Online, “I’m so disappointed that I have been forced to take this action. I had thought after Carl’s death that I, and my young family, would be treated with honesty and respect. Yet, we can’t help but feeling we are looking at a cover-up.
“We have a right to be able to hear and challenge the evidence. Please believe me, we are not trying to be obstructive. We just want to get to the truth and feel that we have a great deal to offer the inquiry. We don’t want to be excluded.
“It’s been over nine months since Carl’s death and we’re no further forward in getting answers than we were last November. All I want is to understand and process why my husband is no longer here. This whole thing just adds agony to heartbreak, but I owe it to Carl to get the full picture.”
