Ann Maguire's family lose challenge over coroner's decision

The family of murdered teacher Ann Maguire has lost a court challenge to a coroner's decision not to call on pupils to give evidence at her inquest.

The 61-year-old was stabbed to death by Will Cornick at Corpus Christi Catholic College, Leeds, in April 2014.

Her family's call for a judicial review into the decision by West Yorkshire coroner Kevin McLoughlin was rejected by a High Court judge in August.

Three Court of Appeal judges have now dismissed the family's challenge.

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Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, Lord Justice Treacy and Lord Justice Hickinbottom said they would give their reasons for the decision at a later date.

Cornick, who was 15 at the time of the killing, admitted murdering Mrs Maguire and was later sentenced to life with a minimum term of 20 years.

An inquest into her death is due to take place before a jury at Wakefield Coroner's Court on 13 November.

Mrs Maguire's husband Don, children and nephews were challenging the coroner's decision not to call evidence from pupils who had contact with her killer immediately before the attack.

The family said the forthcoming inquest would not provide any "meaningful" airing of the circumstances of her murder, its lawyer said at the Court of Appeal.

Nick Armstrong, for the family, had told the court: "This is the only occasion on which a teacher has been killed by a pupil in a British classroom."

He said the family was anxious "all lessons that can be learned from this tragedy, are learned".

When Mr Justice Holroyde dismissed their application for judicial review, he said: "I have much sympathy for the claimants, and I fully understand their reasons for wishing to pursue this line of inquiry."

But he said he was "unable to accept the submission that the assistant coroner reached a decision which was so seriously flawed as to be... unreasonable".