INQUEST: Unlocking the Truth, Oral Histories Project

4WardEverUK • 25 January 2026

source: INQUEST

originally published: May 2025

Image Credit: Deborah Coles - INQUEST www.inquest.org.uk


The INQUEST Oral Histories Archive documents state violence, death and resistance in the UK since 1981 and explores over 40 years of fighting for justice through sound, image and print.


In the Archives you will find:


Timeline

Trace the history of state violence and how INQUEST has campaigned alongside bereaved families and others to push for change from 1981-2021. This interactive timeline maps a fragment of the people who have died, campaigning milestones and legal changes in our on-going pursuit of justice.


Case Profiles

Learn about some of the people who have died at the hands of the British state through policing, prisons and mental health services. Find out who they were, how they died and how their families have fought back. This is just the tip of the iceberg.


This selection of 40 people is a tiny sample of the 10,000+ cases INQUEST has worked on between 1981-2021.


Oral Histories

This collection of interviews preserves the voices and memories of key figures in the movement for justice and transformative change. They provide important context and personal memory to INQUEST’s archive.


With the support of On the Record and a team of mainly bereaved volunteers recorded oral history interviews with INQUEST staff members (current and former), family members, lawyers, journalists, activists and politicians.


See the oral history interview with 4WardEverUK founder, Tippa Naphtali, here >

More about INQUEST here >

Sign petition

Unlawful Killing is a unique new podcast series shining a light on state violence, death, grief and resistance.

Listen on Spotify here >

Listen on Apple here >

Drawing on four decades of campaigning and in conversation with those at the forefront of these struggles, hosts Lee Lawrence, advocate and son of Cherry Groce, and Lucy Brisbane from INQUEST, shine a light on injustice, amplify stories of resistance and explore the best way forward.

See previous article >

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