Fund family’s legal costs for Ruth Perry inquest

Just days before the start of the inquest into the death of Ruth Perry – the Reading primary headteacher who took her own life following an Ofsted inspection of her school – her family have learnt that their application for Legal Aid to fund their legal representation has been rejected.

The other ‘interested parties’ in the Ruth Perry inquest are OFSTED, Reading Borough Council and Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust – all of which, as public bodies, will de facto have their legal costs paid from the public purse. While the bereaved family will receive no financial support, OFSTED have been instructed by the Coroner to bring no more than five members of their legal team to the inquest. We believe this legal and financial inequity to be unjust.

We are launching this crowdfunding campaign to fund the family’s legal advice for, and representation at, the inquest into Ruth’s death, to be held at Berkshire Coroners’ Court between 28 November and 7 December 2023.

The family hopes that the inquest will reveal the truth about the circumstances leading to Ruth’s death and the opportunities that were missed to prevent it. They hope that lessons can be learnt to prevent future such deaths from occurring.

Please donate to our crowdfunder if you feel the lack of legal aid for Ruth Perry’s family is unjust and inequitable, and if you wish to support their campaign for meaningful change in Ruth’s name. Even a small donation would make a big difference, both financially and as a sign of your collective moral support for Ruth’s family.

If we succeed in raising more money than is needed to cover the family’s legal costs or if alternative funding is obtained (e.g. via an appeal against the Legal Aid Agency’s decision or if an Article 2 inquest is engaged), all excess funds will be donated to Inquest: the only charity in the UK which supports people bereaved by state-related deaths to access truth, justice and accountability, and to contribute to systemic change (www.inquest.org.uk).