Partner Gary Miller has successfully acted for Ellen Roome to order a fresh inquest into her child's death.
The High Court of England and Wales ordered a fresh inquest to allow previously omitted social media evidence to be examined. Ellen Roome and Matt Sweeney, the parents of 14-year-old Gloucestershire schoolboy Julian “Jools” Sweeney, secured the ruling after a four-year campaign to find out what happened to their son in the hours before his death in April 2022.
Ellen Roome said:
“For more than four years we have fought every single day for the truth about what happened to our beautiful son, Jools. Today, the legal system has finally recognised that there are questions which deserve to be answered.
“This journey has broken us at times. It has taken an enormous emotional toll on our family, but we could never stop. We fought not only for Jools, but for every family who deserves to know the truth about how their child died.
“No parent should have to spend years battling for evidence that could explain the loss of their child. Every bereaved family deserves to know that every possible avenue, including a child's digital life, has been properly investigated.
“But our greatest hope is that one day no family has to walk this path. Social media companies must do everything in their power to stop children dying in the first place. No parent should ever have to bury their child because dangerous content was allowed to reach them.
“This ruling means that, at last, a coroner can examine Jools' digital life using legal powers that did not exist when he died in 2022. We hope this is a turning point, not only in finding the truth about Jools, but in making the online world safer for every child.
“To every parent facing the unimaginable, please don't give up. We never stopped fighting for our son, and today's decision shows that hope should never be lost. If Jools' legacy helps protect even one child or gives one family the answers they deserve, then he will have changed the world.”
Gary Miller, Partner at Mishcon de Reya and solicitor for Ms Roome, said:
“Ellen has had to navigate an obscure area of the law to help her begin the quest to find an answer to the question of why her son Jools died. Like most parents she trusted in the system to do the right thing. She realised quickly that the system is actually stacked against parents like her.
“Ellen's case has exposed just how much reform is needed to ensure that parents like her have a much greater say in the setting up and holding of inquests as well as to ensure that the authorities have both an obligation and the resources to make data collection and examination a key priority We are glad to have helped Ellen take one step closer to the truth behind her son's death and we hope the forthcoming inquiry will provide Ellen with the answers she deserves and serve as the catalyst for change, so that other grieving parents can avoid the same painful journey.
“Social media is integrated into the lives of young people, and the current investigative processes are not fit for purpose in this new world. The protocols are fragmented, inconsistent, and fail to ensure that all relevant data reaches the coroner at the point of appointment. This deprives parents of the answers they are entitled to. This fundamental failing cannot be allowed to continue.
“What we are calling for is not radical; it is common sense. The protocols and the powers of all state bodies involved in the death of a child must be thoroughly reviewed, updated, and critically, harmonised across all agencies so that every single piece of evidence, in particular, relevant social media data is preserved and placed before the coroner from day one.”