Son of shooting victim feels 'indescribable upset'

The son of one of the Plymouth shooting victims has spoken of his "indescribable upset and disappointment" at what he said was a lack of change after the inquest.

Jake Davison, 22, used a legally held shotgun to kill his mother Maxine Davison, 51, before shooting himself in Keyham in August 2021.

Three-year-old Sophie Martyn, her father Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66, were all killed.

The Home Office said it had provided funding for a new training package for police firearms licensing teams and would consider how to respond to a consultation on proposed changes to gun laws "in due course".

George Shepherd said his mother Ms Shepherd would have wanted lessons to be learnt from her death and for public safety to be improved.

He said an inquest into the shootings last year was an "emotional and challenging journey" and a "process we relied on for hope, for instigating change and providing some level of justice".

But he said improvements identified after the inquest had not been acted on.

"The disappoint and upset surrounding this is indescribable," he said.

Mr Shepherd’s wife Corinne said she shared her husband’s frustration.

"All the prevention of future death certificates are written after the inquest, so clearly identifying problems that can be challenged and changed for the improvements of process and public safety," she said.

"We believe these actions should be compulsory not ignored."

They praised the coroner and his staff for his "kindness, support, compassion and empathy" during the inquest and said their frustrations were with what they saw as a lack of action afterwards.

A study released on Tuesday by Birkbeck, University of London and the University of Bath called for a number of changes on preventing future deaths.

Researchers interviewed 89 bereaved people for the study and found many displayed "profound frustration and disappointment" after recommendations were seemingly not acted on.

The study, called Voicing Loss, said the creation of a new independent public body could help ensure notices issued by coroners to prevent future deaths were followed up.

Prof Jessica Jacobson, project lead, said many of those interviewed felt the coronial process "fell far short of their expectations".

"The answers and accountability they sought were not forthcoming," she said.

"Change is urgently needed to close the gap between expectations of the coroner service and what, in practice, it can deliver."

The Home Office said the government published a consultation on a number of recommendations made after the Keyham inquest and it would consider how to respond to it in "due course".

It said the government had accepted the need for an accredited training package for police firearms licensing teams and funding of £500,000 had been provided to ensure the training is adopted by police forces.

The Ministry of Justice said it had made a number of changes including providing more training for coroners to make inquests "more sympathetic to bereaved families".

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