On Wednesday 17th June 2026, members of our campaign group returned to the court in the Isle of Man in anticipation of hearing the Deemster's judgement on our appeal.

However, the Deemster deferred his judgement to allow the advocates to provide more detailed information relating to the case. This delay is likely to be for a few more weeks.

We appreciate the Deemster giving our case his full consideration and will update you again when we have more to share. 

This unexpected delay means that our campaign will have additional costs for legal work and therefore we would respectfully ask that you continue to support us in any way you can. 

Thank you.

Our Petition of Doleance was heard on Wednesday and Thursday this week.  Following a minute’s silence to remember those who lost their lives the Deemster opened the case. Our legal advocate laid out our objections to the Attorney General’s decision, and this was followed by the advocate for the Attorney General outlining the reasons why our request was rejected. The Deemster has advised us that he will reserve judgment on the case, taking time to make a decision. This may take a few weeks.

Members of the campaign group travelled in person to the hearing and met with key people and media on the island. Thank you to those who made this difficult journey.

Here is a link to ITV (Isle of Man) News coverage

https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2026-05-22/summerland-families-face-anxious-wait-after-fresh-inquest-hearing-concludes 

While we wait, our fight continues. We will continue to highlight the importance of a new inquiry via the media and we will prepare our remembrance of all those who died as we approach the 53rd anniversary of this horrific fire.

Thank you once again for your continued support, it is very much needed and very much appreciated.

Almost 53 years of grief and loss. Decades of trauma and remembrance.  Years and years of campaigners fighting to be heard – we have now reached a critical milestone in our drive for justice.

In just 6 days from now, on Wednesday 20^th May a Deemster (the name given to a Judge on the Isle of Man) will hear our appeal against the Attorney General’s decision not to hold a new inquiry into the facts of the cause of the Summerland Fire disaster.

Remember, the original inquiry highlighted over 30 failings of the design, construction and management of the building but concluded that “there were no villains”.

Our Campaign team and legal advocates are ready. We have a solid legal case and all the determination and strength in the world to see this through. All of this is shored up by your donations and messages of encouragement, for which we are truly grateful.

We still need more financial backing to continue, therefore once again we must make an appeal for help. Can you support us further in any way? Every donation counts and every share of our Crowd Justice page improves our chances of being able to continue.

We will update again as the case progresses and thank you so much for being on this road with us – it means everything.

Dear Campaign Supporters,

After many months of legal discussions between our team of solicitors and the Isle of Man Attorney General we have finally broken through the barriers that were put in our way!

The Attorney General’s attempts to stop us reaching the court to appeal his decision not to open a new inquiry have been removed and we will have our day in court!

ON WEDNESDAY 20^TH MAY & THURSDAY 21^st MAY 2026 OUR PETITION OF DOLEANCE WILL BE HEARD

On the Isle of Man a judicial review is called a Petition of Doleance. Put simply, we are asking the court to decide whether the Attorney General was wrong when he denied our request for a new inquiry into this avoidable disaster which took 50 lives. We strongly believe that he was very much wrong and are determined to prove it. Our fabulous legal team stand ready to advocate on our behalf and we are grateful to them for all their expertise and confidence.

Now that we have got this far, we are totally focused on the next stage of our campaign – keeping the spotlight on the systematic failings that enabled the Summerland disaster to happen. To do this we will be continuing our work with our media and political networks. We will, of course, update you with significant achievements as they happen.

This progress is a direct result of the financial support that you have already so very generously given. We are deeply thankful for your continued support.  Our current fundraising efforts will be concentrated on ensuring that we can afford our court days. Our funds are running out, and we are actively looking for new supporters. Please, please continue to support our campaign in any way you can: spread the word, organise a fundraising event or share this campaign page across all your social media.

If you would like to speak to a member of the team privately, please get in touch:

[email protected]

Thank you for everything you have done and every penny that you have given so far,

Best regards,

Jackie and the Justice for Summerland campaign group.

Just as 2026 moves forward slowly so does our battle to redress the injustice of the 50 deaths by misadventure verdicts given to those who lost their lives in the Summerland Fire Disaster.

Thank you for your continued belief in this campaign and your generous financial support. Without your support we would be unable to continue. Our key updates are:

Our Manx Advocate and UK based legal team continue our conversations with the Attorney General to find an acceptable path through the legal obstacles that currently prevent us from securing a date for our Petition of Doleance to be heard before the Deemster. We are hopeful that this will be remedied in the very near future and will update you again when we have a court date.

At the end of January, we once again raised the profile of our campaign with UK Members of Parliament when we met several MPs in Westminster. It is our hope that the UK Government can recognise the Summerland disaster as a UK wide tragedy that occurred on Manx soil. We had some positive outcomes, most notably the offer of a delegation of UK MPs planning a visit to the Isle of Man to discuss our campaign with their political counterparts and senior figures on the island. ITV Granada followed this meeting, and you can find their report in this link  https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2026-01-28/uk-mps-plan-to-travel-to-isle-of-man-to-campaign-for-fresh-summerland-inquest

We also had a very positive meeting with Jake Richards, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the UK Ministry of Justice whose role includes the Crown Dependences. We brought the horror and injustice of the Summerland Fire to his attention and asked for his support in our campaign. He heard our message and has indicated his willingness to help.

Additionally, we had an opportunity to discuss the Justice for Summerland campaign with leading figures from the Hillsborough Disaster and the subsequent Independent Panel. This has given the campaign insight into the difficulties and obstacles that we may face and has enabled us to plan and prepare for a very long road ahead.

In conclusion, our fight continues across legal, political and media channels. We are strong and determined to right this wrong. Please continue to share our story, including the latest ITV link (above) and this Crowd Justice fundraising page link with your networks, we need as much support as possible. THANK YOU

We would like to wish you, all our supporters, a Happy New Year and the very best of wishes for your good health and happiness as we go forward into 2026.

Your generosity since our crowdfunding began a couple of months ago has been quite overwhelming and we can’t thank you enough.  Unfortunately we are in this for the long-term and it is with heavy hearts we have to continue to ask for donations to cover legal fees to right this terrible wrong. Fifty people died unnecessarily in the most horrific of circumstances and justice has been denied for over five decades. Please keep spreading the word and sharing our Crowd Justice link. Also if you feel you are able to contribute anything further than what you have already kindly done, we would be extremely grateful for your continued support.

We are making progress with our case but it is slow, involving discussions, lengthy legal negotiations and frequent spells of waiting while the cogs continue to turn behind the scenes.  Everything takes time. Nevertheless, we remain optimistic that we will be rewarded with a new inquest to uncover the truth and achieve the answers the bereaved families and indeed, all those affected by this fire in various ways, deserve. Even 52 years on. It is never too late to fight for the truth.  We are immensely grateful to our legal team which consists of lawyers both in Belfast and on the Isle of Man who are working collaboratively on our behalf, towards justice for those who perished in the Summerland fire. 

Our current position is to stand back and allow the lawyers to work and the Deemster time and space to make his decisions.

We hope to be able to update on developments very soon.

Thank you all.

We cannot thank you enough for your continued support and extremely kind donations. We are still waiting for our 1st court date to be set by the judge on the Isle of Man and this is expected imminently. 

As Christmas approaches, we realise this is a difficult time of year but we urge all our wonderful supporters to keep spreading the word and sharing our Crowd Justice link as far and wide as possible. 

We still have a long way to go with our fundraising but your messages have been so uplifting to every single one of us as we continue our quest to right the wrongs of the past. 

Thank you so much once again and we will keep you updated as developments occur. 

After only one week, your support and funding pledges have helped us to reach our initial target of £3000. Our target has now been stretched.

This means so much to every single member of our group. We thank you all; family, friends, Summerland survivors, and strangers who understand the long-lasting effects of trauma, grief and injustice. We are also deeply moved by your messages of support.  

Your response to our fundraising request has been uplifting on this journey that none of us thought we would ever need to take. Your backing pushes us on as we pursue justice for those killed in Summerland.

In practical terms, in reaching this initial goal we have been able to instruct a Manx advocate to begin work. This is just the start, and we will continue to give a voice to those who lost their lives. We will need to continue to raise funds and awareness in the weeks and months to come and welcome any assistance you are able to offer.