Coroner adjourns crush-death inquest

Amanda Telfer (right), who also acted as a volunteer investigator legal action charity Reprieve helping Guantanamo inmates and death row cases, died after the 13ft by 13ft window fell on her as she walked past.

The frame pinned her to the ground in Hanover Street, central London, the hearing at Westminster Coroner's Court was told.

Members of the public lifted the frame off her and tried to resuscitate her, before paramedics arrived but Ms Telfer, of Mill Street, south London, was pronounced dead at the scene at 11.57am last Thursday.

A post-mortem carried out on Saturday gave the cause of death as blunt force trauma.

Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox opened and adjourned the inquest to allow the Metropolitan Police and Health And Safety Executive to continue their investigation.

Speaking from Guantanamo Bay, Reprieve's founder Clive Stafford Smith told London's Evening Standard that Ms Telfer's death was "tragic."

"I heard about poor Amanda a couple of days ago - what a tragedy," he told the paper.

"She was a volunteer at Reprieve - an excellent one - and then very kindly 'legalled' my new book, so it was a pleasure to have the chance to catch up with her then.

"How very sad it was to hear and my heart goes out to her family."

Keystone Law, where Ms Telfer had worked since 2005, said she was "an extremely talented lawyer, much admired by her clients and colleagues."