THE family of Ryan Passey finally managed to highlight their campaign for justice to the Prime Minister just moments before the cabinet started crumbling around him this week.
Ryan’s dad Adrian Passey and members of the Justice for Ryan campaign team travelled to London for a meeting with Minister for Justice Tom Pursglove MP on Tuesday (July 5).
They also met with Boris Johnson but no sooner had they highlighted their campaign to the man at the top – the PM was hit with the biggest crisis of his political career with the resignations of top cabinet members Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the exchequer, and health secretary Sajid Javid (Hagley’s MP).
Despite the drama that began unfolding just minutes after the meeting with Mr Johnson, Justice for Ryan spokesperson Jason Connon said the team were delighted to have met the PM and to have had the opportunity to take their campaign to Parliament.
He said: “Literally, we met him five to 10 minutes before the resignations started to come in. We couldn’t believe it.
“He came over, offered his deepest sympathies and wished us and the campaign success.
“To take time out of his day to come and meet with us was something we really appreciated.
“It’s not very often that you get the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister.”
He said the meeting with Mr Pursglove, organised by Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb, had also been “really positive” and added: “It was an amazing day.
“Suzanne gave us lots of support. We got our points across and we really felt listened to.”
He said the campaign group told the minister more must be done to support families after an acquittal verdict - especially a so-called perverse acquittal like they experienced in February 2018 when Kobe Murray was cleared of murder and manslaughter despite admitting he’d ‘stabbed out’ during a fight in the old Chicago’s bar in Stourbridge in August 2017.
Mr Connon said: “We were left to fight for justice for Ryan on our own. It doesn't seem to matter to our relevant authorities how a perverse acquittal adds to the already unbearable loss, the sense of injustice, as well as the subsequent feeling of isolation at being thrown into a 'legal no man's land' following the impact of a perverse acquittal verdict.
“For a bereaved family, it’s a double trauma and more needs to be done to support victims’ families.”
He said the campaign group made recommendations on how families could be better supported which they hope will be considered for the government’s draft Victims’ Bill and he added: “We’ve come away feeling this is another little step forward in our campaign.”
Suzanne Webb MP said it had been a “positive meeting where the Passey family was really able to explain how they feel” and she added: “I will do all I can and leave no stone unturned to ensure justice is done, not just for Ryan, but for his family.
“We need to make progress on victim support in these circumstances so other families do not face the same situation.”
Meanwhile, West Yorkshire Police is continuing its review into Ryan’s case and Mr Connon said: “Things are being progressed in a timely manner.”
The Justice for Ryan campaign called for a review into the original West Midlands Police investigation after communication between the force and the family broke down.
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