Families mourn loved ones at Lampard Inquiry

Abbigail Smith, left, was 26 when she died in 2022

Bereaved parents have shared loving memories of their children and spoken about the pain of losing them at an inquiry into the deaths of mental health patients.

The Lampard Inquiry is investigating the deaths of people who were receiving mental health inpatient care in Essex between 2000 and 2023.

Chairwoman Baroness Kate Lampard said the number of deaths within the scope of the inquiry will be "significantly in excess of the 2,000" previously thought.

They include people who died within three months of being discharged, and those who died as inpatients receiving NHS-funded care in the independent sector.

Baroness Lampard said the inquiry would be "fair, objective, rigorous and balanced"

As the first commemorative statements of the inquiry were heard, Baroness Lampard said she wanted to express "how grateful I am to everyone who has shared an account of a person who died and the impact of that person's death".

"I find these accounts deeply moving and affecting," she said, adding they gave a "very necessary perspective on the seriousness and tragedy of the matters we're dealing with".

She assured the inquiry she had read all the accounts provided and "looked at every photograph and viewed every video in its entirety".

Patrick Brennan, giving the first commemorative statement, said his son Liam had been a talented chef who "enjoyed the creativity and camaraderie of the kitchen".

A photograph of Liam was displayed on screens around the inquiry venue in Chelmsford as Mr Brennan sipped from a glass of water and spoke about his son.

Mr Brennan said his son, who died four days after turning 29, had been a Chelsea fan and "everyone who met him remembered him fondly".

Mr Brennan described an "almost overwhelming sense of failure that you've outlived your child or sibling" and told of the "corporate defensiveness" of mental health services.

"We were desperate for help, which is why we turned to the NHS for the answers we couldn't find ourselves," he said.

Mr Brennan added that "at family events, there's always someone missing".

Abbigail Smith's mum said her daughter had a "magical bond with animals"

Lisa Wolff placed a framed photograph of her daughter Abbigail Smith on the desk in front of her at the inquiry, along with some of her belongings.

Ms Wolff said her daughter – who died by suicide aged 26 in 2022 – had been a "kaleidoscope of ever-changing colours and patterns".

The mum said her daughter had enjoyed singing and had been an accomplished horse rider with a "magical bond with animals".

She held up a show-jumping rosette that her daughter had won aged 11.

Ms Wolff described a holiday to Cornwall and a trip to Alton Towers, and said she hoped her daughter was "shining down on us, smiling in delight at so many people loving and caring about you".

She fought back tears as she said: "It seems totally unfair that you had to die in order to be safe and at peace when you should have been supported to achieve this when you were alive."

Nicholas Griffin KC, counsel to the inquiry, said at the outset of Monday's hearing that counsellors were present at the inquiry to offer emotional support.

"We want all those engaging in the inquiry to feel safe and supported," he said.

Describing the commemorative statements, Mr Griffin said: "The evidence you will be hearing may be commemorative of a person who has died, speaking about their lives and aspirations and other memories.

"It may be about the impact their death had on the person making the statement."

More statements will be heard this week and next week, and there will be further hearings conducted virtually in November.

Evidential hearings will not begin until next year.