Campaign for fresh Summerland inquest 'marches on'

Campaigners calling for the Summerland fire disaster inquest verdict to be overturned have vowed to "march on" with their "fight for justice" after a bid to have a fresh hearing was rejected.

The Isle of Man's Attorney General turned down a formal application by Belfast-based human rights law firm Phoenix Law on behalf of the Justice for Summerland campaign group.

The deaths of 50 people in the blaze at the leisure complex on 2 August 1973 were ruled to be misadventure.

Jackie Hallam, who lost her mother and best friend in the blaze, said she was "disappointed" by what was "another hurdle in the path for justice".

About 3,000 people were inside the leisure complex on Douglas Promenade when the fire, thought to have been started by three boys from Liverpool smoking, took hold on 2 August 1973.

A public inquiry held in the aftermath found there were "no villains", only human beings who made mistakes.

Making the application for a fresh inquest in March, Phoenix Law argued there had been an "irregularity of proceedings in the original inquest", which had not commented on or addressed "substantial issues" including the cause of the fire.

Rejecting the bid a spokesman for the Attorney General's Chambers said the investigations and findings of the report, produced by the Summerland Fire Commission in 1974, "comprised a thorough, effective and proportionate inquiry into how the fire took hold and spread, and how it came to be so fatal".

The campaign group, which represents some of the victims and survivors of the tragedy, previously called the decision "deplorable" and confirmed they aimed to challenge it "before the High Court".

Ms Hallam, who was 13 at the time, was on holiday with her mother Lorna Bryson Norton and best friend Jane Tallon when the fire broke out.

Recalling the events, she said: "I made it out after being trapped, but I returned home alone."

Ms Hallam said the campaign to have the verdict overturned was an "extremely difficult journey" for her and other members of the group connected to the disaster but it was "too important to let go".

"We consider that this has been a debt outstanding, really it's been unaddressed and unpaid for almost 52 years."

"We are fighting for people we lost and we are fighting for justice," she said.

"We were not surprised at the rejection but it has galvanised our resolve.

"We are not deterred, this is a campaign that is marching on."

Phoenix Law has been contacted for a comment.

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