About the Inquiry

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Humza Yousaf MSP, announced on 12 November 2019 that a public inquiry would be held to examine the events surrounding the death of Sheku Bayoh, the subsequent investigation and whether race was a factor. He appointed Lord Bracadale, a former High Court judge, to chair the Inquiry. Lord Bracadale resigned as Chair to the Inquiry on 21 October 2025. You can read more about this here. 

On 14 January 2026, Scottish Ministers announced that they have appointed Lord Colbeck as Chair to the Inquiry. Lord Colbeck will take up the role of Chair on 2 March 2026. 

The terms of reference were announced in the Scottish Parliament on 21 May 2020. You can read and download them here.

The Inquiry team includes two assessors, Raju Bhatt and Michael Fuller QPM. An assessor is a specialist adviser whose expertise and experience will assist the Inquiry. They were appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in consultation with Lord Bracadale. Read more about the role of assessors here.

Evidence was gathered and analysed to allow witnesses to be identified and called to give evidence.

Evidential hearings began in May 2022. You can watch all previous hearings here.  They are also available to watch on the Inquiry YouTube channel. 

Transcripts of each day's hearings are available in the Hearings Hub section of the website. You can find the Hearings Hub section here. 

After the hearings, all the evidence will be considered and a report published with findings and conclusions. The report can also make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths in similar circumstances. 

You can read more about public inquiries on our FAQ page.