Justice: 2025 Fatal Accident Inquiry Review
This group is no longer active.
Overview
This group was active between January 2025 and January 2026.
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs announced an independent review to consider the Fatal Accident Inquiry system in Parliament on 23 January 2025. Retired Sheriff Principle Ian Abercrombie KC was appointed as the Chair of the review on 15 May 2025 and an advisory group was established to support him.
The Review considered the efficiency, effectiveness and trauma-informed nature of Fatal Accident Inquiry system as it relates to deaths in custody. The Review also identified barriers that families faced in engaging with the process and the timescales involved. The terms of reference were adjusted in July 2025 to include deaths in Police custody as well as deaths in prison custody.
The Review gathered information by way of a call for evidence, is holding meetings, considered published research and previous reviews, and made recommendations for change. The call for evidence ran from 1 August 2025 to 13 September 2025. Evidence will be published and will be available at https://consult.gov.scot/justice/fatal-accident-inquiry-review-call-for-evidence/.
The Review published its Report on 15 January 2026.
Members
- Ian Abercrombie KC, Chair
Advisory Group
- Gillian Mawdsley
- Michelle MacLeod
- Sarah Armstrong
- Wendy Sinclair-Gieben