Jason Beer KC, a specialist in public inquiries and head of 5 Essex Chambers, has joined Angela Grahame KC and Laura Thomson KC on the legal team supporting the inquiry. Mr Beer has acted in several high-profile investigations, including the Post Office Horizon inquiry, the Grenfell Tower inquiry, the Thirlwall inquiry, and the inquest into the death of Dawn Sturgess.

The inquiry is examining the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Bayoh, a 31-year-old father of two, who died in May 2015 after being restrained by six police officers in Kirkcaldy.

The appointment comes as the inquiry prepares for two further hearing dates, set for 12 and 13 June. These sessions will consider concerns over the conduct and procedural fairness of the inquiry chair, Lord Bracadale, particularly in relation to his meetings with Mr Bayoh’s family.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has raised doubts about Lord Bracadale’s impartiality, stating last month that it had “lost confidence” in the process and had lodged a petition seeking judicial review of the inquiry.

It is understood that Lord Bracadale, who has chaired the inquiry since its establishment in 2020, is considering whether to step down following the upcoming hearings. Any such decision would be likely to cause major delays to the inquiry’s progress.

Since its formal launch as a statutory inquiry in November 2020, the process has cost more than £23.7 million. Evidence has now been gathered in full, and closing submissions were expected before the recent controversy.

In March, following the SPF’s intervention, the solicitor to the inquiry, Sadif Ashraf, wrote to all core participants to underscore the importance of family engagement, describing it as “crucial to the effectiveness” of the inquiry. He warned that the process would be prejudiced if it failed to secure and retain the confidence of the families.

Mr Ashraf said Lord Bracadale had, since the outset, sought to keep the families “at the heart” of the inquiry and considered it “reasonable and appropriate” to meet them “from time to time” in order to reassure them, sustain their confidence in the process, and support their full participation.

The first such meeting took place in November 2021, with follow-ups in April and November 2022, and again in January and December 2024. According to Mr Ashraf’s letter, the meetings were intended “to address issues relating to the welfare of family members as the inquiry progressed”, and its impact on them.

“The chair made it clear that anything of an evidential nature would require to be examined in evidence in the inquiry,” Mr Ashraf said.

However, last month David Kennedy, general secretary of the SPF, said: “These unusual developments have left many core participants feeling that the process no longer appears transparent and open, with all core participants having been treated equally.”