Coroner says he has no powers to grant public funds to disgraced breast surgeon

A coroner has ruled that he has no powers to grant legal funding to jailed breast surgeon Ian Paterson ahead of the first of 62 inquests into the deaths of his former patients.

During preliminary legal arguments at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner’s Court, Judge Richard Foster rejected an application from Paterson for public funds to pay for lawyers, and also refused the 66-year-old’s request to delay inquests due to begin next week.

Paterson, who was employed by the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and practised in the private sector at Spire Parkway and Spire Little Aston, was sentenced to a 20-year custodial term in 2017 after being convicted of 20 counts of wounding.

The coroner said he hoped Paterson would give evidence remotely from prison to a further hearing on Thursday of this week, telling the court: “It would obviously be beneficial to my investigations if Mr Paterson participated in full.”

Judge Foster said he had “gone to immense lengths” to ensure Paterson had facilities to prepare for the inquest, including making arrangements for him to have hard copies of written material.

Although Paterson had attended a meeting with a solicitor last week, he declined to provide a written statement, the coroner said, adding: “Whilst my duty remains to fully, fairly and fearlessly investigate all the facts, I wish to reassure Mr Paterson that I and my legal team will treat him in the same way as all other interested persons.”

But the coroner said: “It is for the state to determine whether to grant Ian Paterson funding for legal representation.”

Paterson was appointed as a consultant at Solihull Hospital in 1998 and practised there until May 2011.

More than 560 patient deaths have been considered so far by a multi-disciplinary team of medical experts, leading to the opening of 62 inquests.