Two experts join Deaths in Custody panel
Kate Eves and Andrew Harris are appointed to advise on preventing deaths in custody in England and Wales
The Lord Chancellor has approved the appointments of Kate Eves and Andrew Harris to the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC). Their three-year terms began on 3 December 2024 for Andrew Harris and 10 December 2024 for Kate Eves.
The IAPDC, established in 2009, forms part of the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody in England and Wales. Its mission is to offer expert advice to Ministers, departments, and agencies, focusing on preventing deaths across prisons, police custody, and mental health detention facilities.
Appointments to the IAPDC are made by the Secretary of State for Justice in collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office. The selection process adheres to the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ regulations and the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
About the appointees
Kate Eves
Kate Eves recently chaired the Brook House Inquiry, examining mistreatment at the Brook House Immigration Removal Centre. Her extensive background includes roles such as Senior Advisor to the Prison Rape Elimination Act Resource Centre in the US, Assistant Ombudsman overseeing suicide and homicide investigations for the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, and Researcher for HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. She also served as First Secretary to the Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody.
Andrew Harris
Dr Andrew Harris is a seasoned coroner who served as Senior Coroner for London Inner South for 13 years, presiding over more than 60 inquests into deaths in detention. He is an Honorary Professor in Coronial Law at Queen Mary University of London’s William Harvey Research Institute and contributed to the Angiolini Report on deaths in police custody. With dual qualifications in law and medicine, Dr Harris has published widely, including work on suicide inquests, and authored four chapters in the leading textbook Jervis on Coroners.
These appointments reinforce the IAPDC's commitment to tackling the complex and sensitive issues surrounding deaths in custody.