Anthony Grainger Inquiry

The Inquiry into the death of Anthony Grainger begins today. Mr Grainger’s death arose from a Greater Manchester Police covert investigation called Operation Shire.  He was shot dead in Culcheth by an armed firearms officer of Greater Manchester Police on 3 March 2012.  On 17 March 2016 the Home Secretary ordered a public inquiry into the circumstances of Mr Grainger’s death to be held in place of an inquest.  The Inquiry is constituted under the Inquiries Act 2005.  Its terms of reference are:

“To ascertain when, where, how and in what circumstances Mr Anthony Grainger came by his death during a Greater Manchester Police operation, and then to make any such recommendations as may seem appropriate. In particular, it will investigate:

The objectives and planning of the operation;

The information available to those who planned the operation, and the accuracy, reliability, interpretation, evaluation, transmission and dissemination of such information;

The decision to deploy armed police officers and to make arrests, and the criteria applied in reaching those decisions;

The command and control of the operation, its implementation, the actions of officers during the arrest phase, and the circumstances in which the officer who fired the fatal shot came to discharge his weapon;

The suitability or otherwise of the firearms, ammunition and other munitions deployed in the operation;

Any relevant firearms policies, protocols or manuals in force at the material time, together with any subsequent revisions or amendments;

Whether (and, if so, to what extent) the judgment, reactions or operational effectiveness of any of the planners, commanders or firearms officers were compromised by extended hours of duty or by limitations in their professional capabilities;

The extent to which Mr Grainger’s injuries would have incapacitated him whilst he remained conscious;

Whether, after Mr Grainger was shot, his life could have been saved”

Jason Beer QC is Leading Counsel to the Inquiry; Fiona Barton QC and Jonathan Dixey appear on behalf of the National Crime Agency; and Claire Palmer appears on behalf of the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

More information can be found on the Inquiry’s website  

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Related barristers

Jason Beer KC

Call 1992 | Silk 2011

Fiona Barton KC

Call 1986 | Silk 2011

Jonathan Dixey

Call 2007

Related areas

Police Law

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Public Inquiries

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