A judge has denied Scout leaders’ appeal after a teen’s unlawful death on a trip
Llandudno: A judge has denied a request to change the inquest verdict. The inquest found that a teenager was unlawfully killed during a Scout trip.
Ben Leonard, 16, died on August 26, 2018. He suffered a serious head injury while with the Reddish Explorer Scouts from Stockport. Ben fell about 200 feet at Great Orme.
Ben and two friends took a different path from the other Scouts. They were unsupervised by any leaders, who had lost track of them. Ben ended up on a narrow ledge and slipped, leading to his tragic fall.
A jury concluded that Ben was unlawfully killed due to neglect by the Scout leaders. This finding came after a two-month inquest at Manchester Civil Courts of Justice.
The law prevents juries from naming individuals in their conclusions. During the inquest, Scout leader Sean Glaister refused to answer many questions from the family’s lawyer.
Assistant coroner David Pojur referred the Scout Association and an unnamed employee to the police for investigation. This was for possible conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
After the inquest, Glaister and assistant leader Mary Carr sought a judicial review of the findings. However, Mr. Justice Fordham ruled that the coroner acted fairly and correctly.
Ben’s mother, Jackie Leonard, expressed relief that the judicial review failed. She said they need to move forward while keeping Ben in their hearts.
This inquest was the third attempt, following two aborted ones. The Scout Association publicly apologized and accepted responsibility for Ben’s death during the last inquest.
Ben’s family was misled by the Scout Association, which was concerned about its reputation. They were told that challenging the Scouts was futile.
According to the Scout Association, around 500,000 young people and 145,000 adult volunteers participate in Scouting activities each week.
