INQUESTS in Gwent - which were halted last month after the region's coroner was accused of acting illegally - will resume next month.

Senior coroner for Gwent Caroline Saunders had halted all inquests until after the pandemic last month after London-based news agency the Press Association had accused her of "acting illegally" by holding hearings behind closed doors.

It is a legal requirement for all inquests to be heard in public, with members of the public and press entitled to attend. But Ms Saunders had begun holding hearings without the public or the press present, and releasing conclusions afterwards, following the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Although she had said inquests would not resume until after the pandemic, Ms Saunders has now announced inquests will resume on Tuesday, June 2 - with new social distancing measures in place.

In a letter to the press Ms Saunders said: "In order to comply with the government’s requirements for social distancing, I have made some changes to the way that the court will operate at this time.

"The Coroner’s Court must, by law, be open to the public. However, to comply with the national guidelines and to help ensure that all court users (family, press, the public and court staff) are kept safe, I have determined that the current restriction of keeping a social distance of two metres apart can only be achieved by limiting the numbers of people who can access the court.

"Apart from a coroner and coroner’s officer, only seven other people will be allowed into the courtroom at any one time. I will 'reserve' four places for members of the family and three for the press. Members of the public can drop in to hear inquests, but will only be allowed access if these seven places have not been taken.

"Once in court, all visitors will be required to sit a distance of at least two metres apart in pre-marked seats."