Christine Smith QC to Chair Urology Public Inquiry

On International Women’s Day Health Minister Robin Swann has appointed a senior member of the Bar, Christine Smith QC, to chair a public inquiry in relation to serious concerns about the clinical practice of a hospital consultant. Ms Smith is the first female member of the Bar of Northern Ireland to chair a public inquiry in NI.

The Minister announced the inquiry in an Assembly statement in November 2020, in relation to the work of a urology consultant who had retired from the Southern Trust earlier that year.

Christine Smith was called to the Bar in 1985 and took silk in 2011, she has a background in public inquiry work and is Senior Counsel to the Independent Neurology Inquiry. She also acted as Senior Counsel for the Historical Abuse Inquiry and was appointed as a Commissioner of the Criminal Cases Review Commission in May 2019.

It is intended that the inquiry will be fully underway by Summer 2021.