Inquiry Team

Inquiry Chair

Lady Elish Angiolini LT DBE PC KC

Lady Elish will lead a three-part inquiry to address the issues raised by the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by an off-duty Metropolitan police officer.

Lady Elish has been appointed following consultation with the family of Sarah Everard, who will also be kept updated throughout the work of the inquiry.

Lady Elish is a Scottish lawyer, she was the Lord Advocate of Scotland from 2006 until 2011, having previously been Solicitor General since 2001. She was the first woman, the first Procurator Fiscal, and the first solicitor to hold either post. Since September 2012, Lady Elish is the Principal of St Hugh’s College, Oxford. She is a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Since leaving office she has led several investigations and inquiries, including a review of deaths in police custody commissioned by the then-Home Secretary Rt. Hon Theresa May MP. In June 2022, Lady Elish was appointed to The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle by Her Late Majesty the Queen.

Lady Elish’s appointment and the high-level terms of reference for the Inquiry were announced by the Home Secretary in Parliament on Monday 22 November 2021. The terms of reference for the Inquiry were published on Monday 10 January 2022.

The Inquiry terms of reference can be found here: Angiolini Inquiry part 1: terms of reference – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Legal support

Eversheds-Sutherland are providing legal support to the Inquiry. The team is led by Sarah Jones, Partner and Head of Public Inquiries and Investigations.

Sarah Jones

Sarah is a Partner and head of the Eversheds Sutherland Public Inquiries and Investigations team. She has specialised in public inquiries for over 15 years.

Sarah leads the team appointed as the Commissioning Body for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Telford and she previously led a team of lawyers acting as Solicitors to the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry (investigating allegations of abuse of children in care), acting for a core participant in the Leveson Inquiry (investigating the role of the press and the police in the phone-hacking scandal) and had a lead role on the Rosemary Nelson Public Inquiry (a prominent human rights solicitor who was killed by an under car explosive – there were allegations of state collusion in her death). Sarah was also Deputy Solicitor to the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry. Sarah is currently representing clients who are core participants to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and the Infected Blood Inquiry. Sarah has co-authored a book entitled ‘The Practical Guide to Public Inquiries’, which was published by Hart Publishing in December 2020.

Isabelle Mitchell

Isabelle is a Partner in the Eversheds Sutherland Public Inquiries and Investigations team and is Deputy Solicitor to the Inquiry.

Isabelle’s previous work includes supporting the Chair on the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Telford, working as part of the senior management team acting as Solicitors to the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry (investigating historical abuse allegations), and representing a core participant in the Leveson Inquiry (phone-hacking). Isabelle also supported the independent Trojan Horse investigation (examining allegations of an extremist plot to take over schools in Birmingham) and worked on the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Inquiry. Isabelle is currently representing clients who are core participants to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Isabelle has also co-authored a book entitled ‘The Practical Guide to Public Inquiries’.

Inquiry Secretary

Laura Gibb

As Secretary to the Inquiry, Laura’s role is to report to the Chair and act as the main contact between the Inquiry and the Home Office. Laura works to and for the Inquiry and it is her job to assist the Inquiry in whatever way necessary to fulfil the terms of reference. Laura is also responsible for the wider Inquiry team.

Laura is an experienced senior civil servant and has worked in a variety of policy and operational roles across the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Cabinet Office.