Second appeal application lodged for new Jodey Whiting inquest

Wed,3 November 2021
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A second permission to appeal application has been lodged by the mother of Jodey Whiting, who is fighting for a second inquest into her daughter’s death.

Jodey died in February 2017 following the withdrawal of her benefits by the DWP for not attending a Work Capability Assessment.

However, at the time of the assessment, Jodey was housebound with pneumonia, had been in hospital, and had found out that she had a cyst on the brain.

The application for permission to appeal follows an earlier application for permission to appeal refused by the High Court on 11 October 2021.

The appeal seeks to overturn the decision by the High Court, handed down on 17 September 2021, that the new evidence that had come to light since the first inquest did not require a fresh inquest to be held in the interests of justice.

The permission to appeal application is brought on the grounds the High Court was wrong to so find and that it was wrong to find that Article 2, the right to life, was not engaged by the circumstances of Jodey’s death.

Jodey’s mother Joy Dove said:

“It seems to me that there were obvious failings in the way the DWP treated Jodey, which were proved and documented by the Independent Case Examiner, and it is ridiculous that this has not been fully and publicly investigated.

How can lessons be learned, and future tragedies prevented, if no one examines this properly?”

Merry Varney, of law firm Leigh Day added:

“The possible link between the DWP making repeated errors in the handling of Jodey’s welfare benefits claim shortly before her death, which left her without income, housing benefit and council tax benefit, and her death has never been publicly investigated.

Having obtained the Attorney-General’s permission to apply to the High Court for a second inquest, it is disappointing the High Court rejected our client’s application on all grounds and we hope the Court of Appeal will allow her the opportunity to overturn this decision.”

Source: Family of Jodey Whiting seek fresh inquest into her death to examine role played by DWP available from leighday.co.uk.

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