THE inquest into the death of Thomas Roberts has been adjourned again.

Senior coroner for Dorset, Rachael Griffin, told a hearing at Bournemouth Civic Centre that she would be determining if the inquest would be resumed at a hearing in August.

The hearing was the fifth pre-inquest review after the inquest was opened 10 days after Mr Roberts’ death in March 2022.

He was killed by Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai after Mr Roberts’ acted as a ‘peacemaker’ in an argument between the killer and a friend of Mr Roberts.

Abdulrahimzai was given a life sentence in prison with a minimum of 29 years.

(Image: Dorset Police)

At the hearing on July 22, Ms Griffin said how the inquest was previously adjourned at the start of the month for Mr Roberts’ family to provide further submissions.

In particular, this was for Mr Roberts’ mother, Dolores Roberts-Wallace, who had not attended court previously.

Ms Roberts-Wallace was accompanied in court by councillor Joe Salmon, in his capacity as a friend, although he had previously called for a public inquiry into Mr Roberts’ death.

Ms Griffin said she felt she had been ‘misled’ that he had not declared his role in the council nor his status as a prospective parliamentary candidate at the previous hearing.

She added that his role could cause some challenges, as there are strict rules on MPs not being able to address coroners.

Mr Salmon apologised, saying he had not intended to mislead, and that he was there as a friend.

Ms Griffin continued, saying that she had received notice Dr Anton Van Dellan had been instructed to represent Ms Roberts-Wallace, requesting an adjournment.

But following a request to have this request put in writing by July 16, Ms Griffin did not hear from Dr Van Dellan until the morning of July 21, saying he would not be in attendance as an adjournment had not been granted.

While he said he meant this with no disrespect, Ms Griffin said she felt she had been disrespected, adding it would not be fair to Mr Roberts’ family to adjourn the inquest into next year.

The inquest was adjourned to August 23 at 1pm. Ms Griffin will then determine if the inquest will resume or be concluded.

Previously, Ms Griffin said she would need to determine if the four questions she must answer as a coroner had already been answered and so if there was sufficient reason to resume the inquest.