The Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE was called to the Bar in 1972. In 1989 she became a QC and was the first woman to chair the Bar Council in 1998. After becoming a Presiding Judge, she was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 2005 and was appointed Vice-President of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division in 2013.

Baroness Hallett acted as Coroner at the inquest into the deaths of the 56 people who died in the 7 July 2005 London bombings, and was appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in 2015 to conduct the “Review into On the Runs”.

In April 2019 Baroness Hallett was appointed the Chair of the Security Vetting Appeals Panel. In August 2019, Baroness Hallett was appointed to conduct individual fatality investigations assigned to her from time to time, with her agreement, by the Ministry of Defence. She was made a Life Peer in September 2019.

Andrew O’Connor has extensive experience of inquests and public law litigation. In recent years, he has appeared in a series of high profile inquests and inquiries, including the 7/7 inquests, the Hillsborough inquests and the Litvinenko Inquiry. He is currently instructed as one of the Counsel to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, and he is acting for the National Crime Agency in the Undercover Policing Inquiry and for the Manchester Arena at the inquests into the deaths of those killed in the May 2017 terrorist attack. He is also instructed as Leading Counsel to the Inquest in the inquests into the deaths of the four young men killed in East London by Stephen Port.

Francesca Whitelaw specialises in public law with particular expertise in high profile, sensitive, litigation and inquests involving police and government. She is currently instructed in the Fishmongers’ Hall Terror Attack Inquest and the Sudesh Amman Inquest (Streatham Terror Attack), and in the Infected Blood Public Inquiry. In recent years she has appeared in the Court of Appeal in Bridges (the first case in the world to consider the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement), and in the London Bridge and Borough Market Terror Attack Inquests, the Westminster Terror Attack Inquests, and the Inquests into the deaths of trainee soldiers at Deepcut Barracks.

Émilie Pottle specialises in public and international law. She is recommended in the directories across multiple practice areas and has appeared before the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Divisional Court. She represents UK and foreign government departments, individuals and NGOs. In recent years, she has appeared in the Supreme Court in the case of R v TRA [2019] UKSC 52 concerning the interpretation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture to non-state actors.

Émilie has experience in a broad range of public law matters, and acts both for and against the government in judicial review proceedings, claims against public bodies and other proceedings with a public law element.

Martin is a partner in the Regulatory Group at Fieldfisher LLP, specialising in public law including inquests and inquiries. He acted as Solicitor to the Hutton Inquiry into the death of Dr David Kelly, the inquest into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed, the inquests arising from the 7/7 London bombings and the Hillsborough inquests.

He is currently also Solicitor to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel Review and the Dyson Investigation.