Rutherford Building Inquest

10 Jan 2013

The Coroner has announced his conclusions on the cause of deaths of two former members of staff.

At a Coroner’s Inquest held earlier today (Thursday, 10 January 2013) in Manchester, the Coroner concluded that Professor Tom Whiston and Dr Arthur Reader died from “natural causes” and that their deaths were not connected with their occupancy of offices in the Rutherford Building during their employment at The University of Manchester.

The Coroner’s independent judicial opinion supports the conclusion reached by Professor David Coggon of the University of Southampton, who led the University's own independent review into these issues, and Professor John Neoptolemos of Liverpool University, who was instructed as an expert witness by the Coroner as part of the inquest process.

This has been a long and difficult process for the families of our former colleagues.  We hope that they are reassured by the Coroner's verdict.