The Michael Stone inquiry and the John Barrett inquiry
Verita managed the independent inquiry into the care and treatment of Michael Stone, one of the largest and most high-profile mental health inquiries in recent years (Michael Stone is now serving a life sentence for the attempted murder of Josie Russell and the murder of her mother, Lin, and sister Megan, in 1996). The inquiry findings were published in September 2006.A month later, in October 2006, the independent inquiry into the care and treatment of John Barrett was published. John Barrett was a mental health patient with a history of serious assault who stabbed to death Denis Finnegan while on leave from a medium-secure psychiatric unit. NHS London and South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust commissioned Verita to project manage the inquiry into the events leading up to the fatal stabbing in Richmond Park. The inquiry panel, chaired by Robert Robinson a solicitor specialising in mental health law, carried out a rigorous and thorough review of this complex case going back many years. Verita's role was to assist the panel in all aspects of its work, including obtaining and analysing substantial documentary evidence, conducting interviews with witnesses, communicating with stakeholders including relatives, and managing production and publication of the inquiry report. The 422-page report was published within a year of the inquiry panel first meeting.