'We lost faith in justice after our father's death'

The family have sent a Victims Right to Review of the case to the Crown Prosecution Service

The family of a man who died at an East Sussex holiday park are seeking to overturn a decision by prosecutors not to bring charges in connection with the death.

The daughters of Michael McDonagh, who died at the Parkdean resort in Camber Sands, in 2022, said they have "lost all faith in the criminal justice system" after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided nobody was to be prosecuted.

The family, from north London, have sent a Victims Right to Review of the case to the CPS after they were sent a letter by the body outlining the reasons for not pursuing the case.

A CPS spokesperson said: “During our first review of the case, having considered all the available evidence, it was determined our legal test for prosecution was not met.”

Michael McDonagh, 53, was staying at Parkdean resort in Camber Sands when police were called to reports of a group altercation on 6 August, 2022

Seven people were arrested after the death of Mr McDonagh, but no charges were brought.

Stephanie McDonagh, one of his daughters, said the family were hoping for a successful outcome of their challenge, which is part of a scheme which allows victims to seek a review of certain decisions made by the CPS.

She said: "My father died in tragic circumstances. No one should go on holiday and return without a father."

Another daughter, Erin, added: "The fact my father wasn't there to walk me down the aisle will always live with me. It was really upsetting."

'Captured by CCTV'

The letter from the CPS says that six people, who were all members of staff at Parkdean, were involved in an altercation with Mr McDonagh after he was refused service at the bar.

It said he accepted the decision but then became "aggressive and violent".

Mr McDonagh took "up a boxer stance and hit a member of staff several times to the face".

The letter said: "The incident was captured by CCTV and although it shows the initial stages of the incident it is not possible to see clearly what happens once Michael is restrained on the ground due to people and furniture blocking the view."

It adds: "The policies, risk assessments and training provided by Parkdean appear to have been lacking."

A spokesperson for Camber Sands Holiday Park said: “We are aware of a request for a review of the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service regarding this tragic event.

"Our thoughts are with the McDonagh family at this difficult time.

"As there are ongoing legal proceedings, we are unable to comment further at this time.”

'Use of force'

The CPS letter refers to the post-mortem, which concluded the cause of death "was a cardiorespiratory collapse" and "restraint, compression of the neck and abdominal splinting due to body habitus (Michael’s build)".

An expert in the use of restraint cited in the letter said that the restraint of Mr McDonagh should have ended "some 5 to 6 minutes before it did".

However the letter adds: "In respect of self-defence, the reviewing lawyer identified that the defence would argue that the necessity for the use of force was clear and that the CCTV establishes Michael as the aggressor."

Stephanie McDonagh said: "We don't know if it was provoked or self-defence. Regardless of what happened, that doesn't give someone the right to take someone's life."

An inquest into Mr McDonagh's death will take place but is not yet scheduled

The CPS spokesperson said in a statement: “Our thoughts remain with Mr McDonagh’s family and friends following his tragic death.

“A request under our Victims’ Right to Review scheme has been received from Mr McDonagh’s family and this review is currently underway. Any future decision will of course be communicated to the family.”

An inquest into Mr McDonagh's death will take place but is not yet scheduled.