Jailed surgeon to get breaks between inquests

Jailed surgeon Ian Paterson may only have to give evidence three times a month in the long-running inquests into the deaths of 68 of his former patients, a court has heard.

The disgraced doctor is serving a 20-year prison sentence for wounding patients by way of botched and unnecessary operations. He has been appearing over video link from jail for the hearings, which began in October 2024.

On Wednesday, the coroner examined an application made by Paterson in June, when he asked to be allowed to attend only two inquests per month.

The coroner, Judge Richard Foster, said he had "agreed in principle" that Paterson could have 10 days to prepare between giving evidence.

He said he sympathised with the disgraced surgeon's need to prepare in advance for hearings and he would give his decision in writing later.

At the hearing in June, looking into the death of 29-year-old Tracey Taylor from Solihull, Paterson cited "physical and mental health reasons" for the request.

He added that he was almost 70 years old and could not handle more than two a month.

"As you've denied me legal funding, I don't want to use my limited resources," he said at the hearing.

After Wednesday's hearing, Shirley Moroney, whose sister Marie Pinfield's death is among those being examined, told the BBC: "Any concession to him feels like we're just giving into him all the time, like he's holding all the cards.

"It hurts; it feels as though we are allowing the tail to wag the dog."

Moroney's sister was a child protection officer for West Midlands Police who died in October 2008 of metastatic breast cancer.

The hearing on Wednesday was to address how various topics are listed and timetabled.

Court documents provisionally suggest the hearings could stretch into mid-2028 in a "worst case" scenario, but that "matters may in fact progress more quickly".

Judge Foster said the inquests were "unprecedented in terms of scale, complexity and volume of documents".

Paterson was jailed for 20 years in 2017 but is due to be released on licence in May 2027, after serving half of his sentence.

The majority of his patients lived in Birmingham, Warwickshire and Staffordshire.

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