Marie Theobald

Mr Graeme Irvine 
Senior Coroner East London 
Walthamstow Coroner's Court, Queens Road  
Walthamstow, E17 8QP 

Metropolitan Police Service 
New Scotland Yard 
Victoria Embankment 
London 
SW1A 2JL 

12/09/2025 

By email 

Dear Mr Irvine,  

Prevention of future deaths – Marie Louise Theobald  

I would like to start by expressing my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Marie Louise 

Theobald. Our thoughts and sympathies are very much with them.  

On behalf of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, I write to provide the response to the 

matter of concern addressed to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in your Report to Prevent 

Future Deaths dated 18 July 2025 following the Pre Inquest Review into the tragic death of Ms Marie 

Louise Theobald.  

The MPS has acknowledged and reviewed the matter of concern raised in your Regulation 28 Report 

and responds as follows:  

The Coroner’s “Matter of Concern” 

Ms Theobald was killed over 18 months ago. Delays in the criminal investigation mean that an 

identified suspect is neither subject to conditional bail, driving disqualification nor are they remanded in 

custody. The absence of these measures means that a risk of further fatal harm exists. 

MPS Response to “Matter of Concern” 

To answer the Matter of Concern, I have addressed two separate issues: the potential for further fatal 

harm caused by the driver and the delays in the criminal investigation. 

Potential for further fatal harm 

In all cases where a suspect is arrested for driving causing death or serious injury, officers review all 

options to limit the chances that the suspect may commit further offences. This includes a review by 

Operation Revoke, where the MPS works together with DVLA to see if the driver’s licence can be 

revoked, liaising with employers where the collision took place in the suspect’s line of work, the 

implementation of bail conditions and where relevant, interim prosecution for more minor driving 

offences. 

Following the arrest on 23 December 2022, the suspect was bailed with stringent conditions, designed 

to prevent driving. On two occasions, bail was extended without a change to the conditions. On 16th  

MORE TRUST 

LESS CRIME 

HIGH STANDARDS 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 September 2024, police made an application to the Magistrates court for the suspect’s bail, with its 

conditions, to be extended. Extension of bail was denied. The reasoning given by the court was that 

the suspect was already, at that time, disqualified from driving for a period of time as I refer to below. 

Prior to the bail period ending, the suspect had been charged by the investigation team with an 

offence under S172 of the Road Traffic Act, resulting in a disqualification from driving for 6 months. 

The driver remains disqualified from driving until September 2026, having been found guilty of an 

unrelated offence in July 2025. 

While I appreciate that there has been a period from 21 January 2025 until 11 July 2025 that the driver 

was not disqualified or under bail conditions not to drive, I hope it will provide some comfort to the 

family and reassurance to the Coroner that the suspect is currently disqualified from driving until 

September 2026. 

I apologise for the fact that the Officer in the Case was unaware of this disqualification at the time of 

the Pre-Inquest Review hearing and that therefore you were not made aware of this important fact at 

the time your report was issued. This is something the officer’s line manager has discussed with the 

officer. 

Delays in the criminal investigation 

When discussing the length of this Serious Collision Investigation, there are a number of factors that 

have caused delays in this case. This type of investigation is lengthy by its very nature, and Ms 

Theobald’s family were informed, and showed understanding of this, at the beginning of the 

investigation and during regular contact with the Family Liaison Officer. 

Delays in serious collision investigations are typically encountered in forensic processes and technical 

reports, and reviews of computerised processes, as well as CPS reviews. The investigation team 

started engagement with the CPS Mid-2024 and continue to liaise with assigned lawyers. 

Due to the ongoing Criminal Investigation, I cannot disclose which forensic processes have caused 

delays in this case, however I am satisfied that this was outside of the control of the investigating 

officers. 

In addition to the above, delays occurred due to staffing challenges, leading to the current 

investigating officer inheriting a relatively large number of cases to be progressed simultaneously. The 

Serious Collision Investigation Unit has recently recruited a number of new detectives which will 

increase the capacity of the unit and ensure cases are processed expeditiously.  

Since the start of this investigation, the leadership team overseeing the Serious Crime Collision Unit 

has changed and processes have been, and are being, implemented to ensure the effective and 

efficient functioning of the unit.  

The current Senior Investigative Officer has completed a full review of the case, which they have 

briefed me on. The Officer in the Case is working through the final actions for which he has been given 

strict deadlines, and I anticipate that all reports will have been received back as early as is reasonably 

possible. 

The MPS will be providing you with an update every two months as to the outstanding actions and 

anticipated time frames until the conclusion of this investigation. 

 
 I hope this response explains the delays in the investigative process and clarity around the interim 

disqualification of the driver since this tragic incident that gave rise to your matters of concern. I 

apologise once again that this information was not made available to you during the Pre Inquest 

Review. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any additional information or clarification 

regarding the above. 

Yours sincerely, 

Deputy Assistant Commissioner 
Met Operations and Performance