Jonnie Meek: Second inquest into Cannock boy's death given new date
A second inquest into the death of a three-year-old boy from Cannock has been put off – after the coroner said it would not be appropriate for him to lead it.
Jonnie Meek had a rare congenital disability and died at Stafford Hospital two days after his third birthday in 2014.
But his parents rejected the first inquest's verdict in 2015 that their son died of natural causes due to pneumonia – they believe he died from a severe allergic reaction to milk given to him by medical staff.
After a long dispute, a High Court ruled in April this year that there should be a new inquest to find out what happened.
In a hearing at Staffordshire Coroner's Court in Cannock yesterday coroner Andrew Haigh said he believed it would be appropriate because of "perceived bias" that the matter should go elsewhere.
While he was not the coroner at the time of the first inquest, the hearing was still held under the Staffordshire jurisdiction.
It will be heard in Shropshire, although a date has not yet been set.
