Issue 156  22nd August 2020

This appeal concerns causation in gross negligence manslaughter. Louella Fletcher Michie (“Louella”) was pronounced dead in the early hours of the morning of Monday 11 September 2017 at the Bestival Music Festival at Lulworth Castle. She had taken a controlled Class A drug, namely 2C-P as well as ketamine and ecstasy. The appellant, who was her boyfriend, had supplied the 2-CP and “bumped” it up either by giving her an increased dose or mixing it with ecstasy or ketamine...

In our view, this is one of those rare cases (as was Morby) where the expert evidence was all that the jury had to assist them in answering the question on causation. That expert evidence was not capable of establishing causation to the criminal standard. Miss Darlow’s final submission that at 21.10 Louella was deprived of a 90% chance of survival was an accurate reflection of Professor Deakin’s evidence but, for the reasons we have explained, that is not enough. Put another way, if an operation carried a personal 10% risk of mortality, both patient and clinicians would be able confidently to say that the chances of survival were very high or very good (to take two phrases used by the Professor) but none could be sure.

In respectful disagreement with the judge, we conclude that the appellant’s main argument, that the case should have been withdrawn from the jury, is established. Applying the Galbraith test (R v. Galbraith [1981] 1 WLR 1039), taken at its highest, the evidence adduced by the prosecution was incapable of proving causation to the criminal standard of proof. The appeal against conviction for manslaughter must be allowed.

On the evening of Monday 22 May 2017 over 14,000 people, many of whom were either children or teenagers, attended Ariana Grande’s concert at the Manchester Arena. At about 10.30pm, as the performance came to an end and the audience started to leave through the City Room in order to meet their families and friends who were waiting to collect them, the defendant’s brother, Salman Abedi, detonated an improvised explosive device which caused both himself and 22 fellow human beings to be killed whilst many others were very seriously injured. Although Salman Abedi was directly responsible for detonating the explosive device that evening, it is clear that the defendant had taken an integral part not only in the planning of such an event but in participating in its preparation.

Bearing all these matters in mind and standing back from the statutory scheme so as to ensure that the overall sentence is proportionate to the criminality involved in these offences, both in terms of culpability and harm, I consider that the appropriate minimum term for the sentences of life imprisonment on each of the counts of murder is one of 55 years.