On 10 July 2020, our lives changed forever when our beautiful son was cruelly taken from this world. James had so much to live for, he was only 23 and had recently graduated from Newcastle University in computer science and had started a promising career as a computer programmer. He was a fantastic boy and lit up any room. We miss him very much every day.

Today the Inquest into James’ tragic death has concluded. We would like to thank the coroner for her thorough investigation which has helped us understand what happened to our son on that terrible night. We would also like to thank our Solicitors Jill Paterson and Thomas Jervis of Leigh Day and our barrister team from Park Square Barristers for helping us seek justice for James over the last 3 years.

James died from anaphylaxis after eating food which contained fatal amounts of hidden peanut to which he was allergic. He had ordered the food from the well-known food app, Deliveroo, which had partnered with a local restaurant called Dadyal. The Inquest heard how the restaurant had a chaotic and misinformed approach to handling food allergens. Their menu did not disclose accurate information as to the true content of the food. We were horrified to hear evidence about exactly what went on in that kitchen and seriously question whether anyone with an allergy could ever have safely ordered food from there.

James’ case has shone light on a much bigger issues that need urgent attention. There are 3 major online food apps that dominate the delivery market, Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat. The United Kingdom is home to one of the biggest online food delivery markets in the world which is estimated to be worth billions of pounds.

One in four people in the UK live with allergies and that number is on the rise. Online food platforms have a major role in choosing who they partner with and how food is safely provided to customers by their partner providers. The Inquest in James’ death has heard evidence that Deliveroo is not legally required to provide allergen information to customers using their app.

We now take this opportunity to publicly call on the bosses of the big 3 apps; Will Shu of Deliveroo, Matthew Price of UberEats and Claire Pointon of Just Eat to meet with us to carry out a collaborative review of what further steps can be taken to better protect consumers. This is not about competition or sales; this is about people’s lives.

James will forever be in our hearts.

Even if the outcome of this is that one person’s life is saved, then that’s something.

After a really hard week of hearing evidence from the Dadyal takeaway, Deliveroo and others, tomorrow the inquest into James’ death will conclude.

It has been a really difficult time for all of us. We have had to listen for the first time to details as to exactly what happened to James on that night, and will always wonder if things could have been different.

We want to thank everyone for their continued support during this long and painful process in getting justice for James.

We will aim to update you all following tomorrow's conclusion.

Love, James’ family

It has been a very long road so far, but the Inquest into James’ death starts tomorrow and is set to last up to 2 weeks.  Thank you for everyone’s ongoing support, we could not have got this far without you all.  This is for James and the 2 million allergy sufferers in the UK.   It is going to be a really tough 2 weeks for our family but we will aim to keep you updated where we can.

Love James’ Family, X

Our Beautiful Son James 

James Stuart Atkinson was born on the 21 October 1996 at 10:30pm and we knew from that moment that our family was complete.

He was a happy, bubbly blonde haired little boy who brought sunshine and happiness wherever he went.

James, from an early age, loved the seaside, climbing and trying any activity he could.  From Akido to golf to rugby, cycling and outdoor adventures.

He loved school, attending Green Lane Primary School, Garforth Community College before finally completing his education at Newcastle University where he received a 2:1 in Computer Science.

He formed firm friendships and made Newcastle his home. He found his dream job in computer programming where we were told “he brought the biggest ray of sunshine into the office and brightened everyone’s day”.

James had a gift of making others happy, checking in on friends and offering support when needed.  To be in his company with his amazing sense of humour and infectious laugh was a privilege.  First on the dance floor and last to leave James lived his life to its fullest but also had a sensitive and thoughtful side. 

His whole family meant the world to him. He was loving, kind and caring.

James’ sudden death has left an insurmountable hole in our hearts.

He had his whole life ahead of him full of future plans and dreams that will not be realised or witnesses by his family.

No more memories to make.

We were blessed to have him for the 23 years that we did.  He is irreplaceable.  However, to honour him we hold a forever space in our hearts and carry him with us always - our beautiful boy James.

Last year we lodged a Victims’ Right to Review asking the Police to re-investigate their decision to take no further action against those we believe played their part in James’ death. In February, they told us that they were upholding their original decision which means that no criminal prosecution will be brought for what happened. 

We found this deeply disappointing. However, we are not deterred in our efforts to seek justice for James and make sure lessons are learnt so that no other family has to go through what we did. 

We also asked the local Council (who are responsible for regulating the take-away restaurant) to formally review their decision not to bring any proceedings under food safety and health and safety law. The Council have told us that their final decision will be made after the Inquest has concluded. 

The next step in this difficult journey is the Second Pre-Inquest Review Hearing in Newcastle on Wednesday 17 May. We will share an update with you after the hearing.

We are so appreciative to all of you who have donated so far to help fund our specialist legal team who are representing us and James at the hearing. Please keep spreading the word where you can. 

Love, James' Family x

This Sunday, 10 July 2022, is the second anniversary of our James’ death. We will be remembering James this weekend especially, thinking of the happy times we all had together as a family.

We just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who has donated for their ongoing support. We have been so overwhelmed by peoples kind generosity and messages of support not just from the UK, but around the world.  We can’t bring James back, but we are so grateful that your backing is allowing us to do the very best for James, and get us the proper legal support that he deserves. We will aim to provide you with the next case update as soon as we can. 

Thank you.

Stuart, Jill and the family 

We are really grateful to Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley for interviewing us on   Good Morning Britain today to talk about our wonderful son James. We miss him every day. Watch our interview here: 

Nothing can ever bring our James back but today we stood for him in Court and called for a full and proper investigation into his utterly avoidable death. 

We have lodged a Victims' Right to Review calling on the Police to re-investigate what happened and to potentially bring criminal cases against those we believe played their part. 

We are pleased that the Coroner confirmed that Deliveroo will be required to attend the Inquest and provide evidence. 

We are so grateful to the hundreds of people across the country who have supported our CrowdJustice fundraising campaign. Only through your amazing kindness and generosity will we finally get Justice for James. Please keep spreading the word to help us hit our goal. 

Love, James' Family x 

We wanted to share a picture of James on his graduation day. He studied Computer Science at Newcastle University and he loved it. 

There has been an outpouring of public support since yesterday’s media coverage. We have now raised half the initial target, but we still need your help to keep going. Please keep spreading the word. 

Much love, James’ family