Nikita McNeill

Inquests & Public Inquiries

Nikita has been consistently ranked as a leading individual in the Inquests and Public Inquiries section in Chambers & Partners UK and Legal 500 since 2018.

Nikita is a sought after junior for complex and high profile inquests and public inquiries, and has been instructed on behalf of a wide range of interested persons and core participants. She has acted as junior counsel to the inquest in the Hillsborough Inquest, first junior counsel to the inquiry in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and, most recently, acted for a core participant in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

Nikita has experience of the lengthy and complex procedures required for applications to the Attorney General for a fiat to overturn the findings of an inquest and has both advised upon and acted in judicial review proceedings arising from inquests.

Notable Cases:

R (TM) v Assistant Coroner for West London

Nikita is instructed to defend an Assistant Coroner in judicial review proceedings brought on behalf of the family to challenge her ruling that Article 2 is not engaged in an inquest touching upon the death of a voluntary mental health patient during a period of leave from the hospital unit.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry

Nikita is instructed to represent a core participant involved in the renovation of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry following a fire which resulted in the death of 71 people.

Rushbrooke v HM Coroner for West London

Nikita acted on behalf of the Coroner in an application to quash the inquest into the death of Sylvia Rushbrooke who was, at the time of her death, subject to a DOLS order and resident in a care home. The application was based upon procedural irregularities in the first inquest as well as insufficiency of inquiry.

R.e. Peter John Fasoli

Nikita acted on behalf of the Senior Coroner for West London in an application to the Divisional Court to quash the inquest into the death of Peter Fasoli. Mr Fasoli’s death was originally found to be accidental, following a fire at his home. Video footage subsequently discovered showed that Mr Fasoli was murdered before the fire was intentionally set.

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

Nikita is currently instructed as junior counsel in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which was established to examine how the country’s institutions responded to their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse.

Cummings v HM Coroner for West London

Nikita acted for the Senior Coroner for West London in an application to quash the inquest into the death of an elderly lady who died when her home caught on fire, following receipt of a new investigation by the London Fire Brigade into the possible causes of that fire.

Inquest into the death of NA

Nikita appeared in an inquest into the suspected suicide of a Bristol University Student. 12 students at the University had or were suspected of having taken their own lives in an 18 month period. Nikita represented a GP in the student health services in a complex inquest which looked at the particular challenges faces in the treatment of young students suffering from mental health difficulties.

Inquest into the death of AR

Nikita represented the GP surgery in a week long inquest into the death of a patient with significant and complex mental health problems who took his own life after he was discharged from community mental health services into the care of his GPs.

Inquest into the death of AG

Nikita was instructed in an Article 2 Inquest following the drowning of a swimmer at a health centre. The deceased was seen on CCTV struggling for some time, before being at the bottom of the pool for 6 minutes before being retrieved by staff even though there was a lifeguard on duty at that time.

Inquest into the death of KG

Nikita is instructed by a travel company in an inquest into the death of a UK traveller in one of their European hotels.

Hillsborough Stadium Disaster

Nikita was instructed by Sir John Goldring as junior counsel to the inquest into the death of 96 football fans at the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster. Nikita was particularly involved in the consideration of the extensive and complex pathological evidence.