Unlawful Killing Verdicts Under Threat

Proposals tighten the standard of proof for police misconduct and unlawful killing verdicts, which justice organisations argue, protects perpetrators and entrenches a culture of impunity, “marred by racism and misogyny.”

Content Type: News

In October 2025, the Home Office responded to recommendations from a government-commissioned review by Timothy Godwin and Sir Adrian Fulford, who examined legal thresholds for police accountability. This review followed the acquittal of Martyn Blake, the Metropolitan Police officer who fatally shot unarmed Chris Kaba.

The “Police accountability: rapid review” offered two pivotal recommendations to the Lord Chancellor and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.  First, it suggested raising the evidentiary criteria for police use of force in misconduct cases from the civil to the criminal standard. The Home Secretary approved this change.

This amendment means that when questioning police use of force in court, evidence must now indicate wrongdoing beyond a reasonable doubt, rather than on the balance of probabilities. This requires the prosecution’s case to meet the highest legal standard, making successful convictions for excessive force far less likely.

Secondly, and most alarming for those advocating for women’s justice, the review advised raising the onus of proof before an inquest can determine that a death was an “unlawful killing”. This recommendation is currently under consultation by the Lord Chancellor. If implemented, inquests would need to meet far more rigorous guidelines before concluding that a death was unlawfully caused.

On March 6, 2026, a coalition of justice and human rights organisations submitted a formal response demanding reconsideration. Campaigners and advocacy groups emphasised two specific cases where unlawful killing verdicts were essential to achieving justice, verdicts that will become considerably more difficult to secure under these proposals.

The coalition’s joint letter to Home Secretary Mahmood included INQUEST, the charity supporting bereaved families after state-related deaths. Its director, Deborah Coles, cautioned: “Changing the law to please the police lobby – at the expense of bereaved people and victims – will simply advance the culture of impunity.”

Advocacy groups argue these proposals reflect a broader initiative to ease police fears of prosecution when using force. The co-signed letter notes particular dangers for minority groups, especially women seeking justice through inquests.

Unlawful killing verdicts have proved essential for women whose deaths follow domestic abuse. In 2023, an inquest into Kellie Sutton’s death was overturned after investigators found Steven Gane had unlawfully killed her through sustained physical and mental abuse, driving her to take her own life. Similarly, an inquest found Georgia Barter was unlawfully killed by Thomas Bignell after a decade of domestic violence led her to end her life.

Both verdicts were only reached through persistent family campaigning, demonstrating that securing an unlawful killing finding is already difficult within existing institutions. Advocates warn that if these verdicts are made even harder to prove, men whose abusive behaviour drives women to suicide may escape accountability entirely.

This risk becomes a grave concern when perpetrators occupy positions of power, including the police officials whom these proposed changes are designed to safeguard. Alba Kapoor, Racial Justice Lead at Amnesty International UK, frames the discussion with urgency: “In a police force marred by evidence of institutional racism and misogyny, they [these proposals] also open the door to unchecked discrimination.”

The coalition letter’s final paragraph reads: “You [Home Secretary Mahmood] recently stated in Parliament that you hope to get to a place ‘where we can be confident in our police forces’. Your Department’s proposed changes will do nothing to address the significant and well-documented institutional failings that exist within the police. Instead, they will cause a further crisis of accountability following police misconduct.”

The signatories include Amnesty International, Black Lives Matter UK, Centre for Women’s Justice, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, INQUEST, Netpol, Police Action Lawyers Group, Runnymede, StopWatch, United Families and Friends Campaign, and UNJUST.

Image Source: Tony Buckingham

Sources: BBC, Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, GOV.UK, INQUEST, The Justice Gap, Legal Action Group, Stop Watch