Alison Thompson

Alison Thompson graduated in Biochemistry in 1973 and later completed a post-graduate diploma in Nutrition. She gained employment with BOAC, the Daily Telegraph, the NHS and the private health sector as well as HM Customs and Excise.

After gaining a further degree in Law she was called to the Bar in London (1985), in Hong Kong (1994) and was in practice as a Criminal and Family Barrister in both jurisdictions prior to her appointment as a Magistrate, then Coroner, in Hong Kong.

Alison was appointed Coroner for West London in 2000, a district comprising 6 London Boroughs and including Heathrow Airport. The jurisdiction deals with about 5000 reported deaths each year, about 600 of which result in inquests.

Alison established the Heathrow Disaster Planning Group in 2001 which was the forerunner of the Mass Fatality Working Group now linked to the London Resilience Team (LRT). She was responsible for organising a 2 day mass fatality mortuary exercise at military premises and contributed to the LRT’s London Mass Fatality Plan and Disaster Mortuary Plan. Alison represents the 8 London Coroners as a member of the London Regional Resilience Forum.

Alison has been responsible for the identification and repatriation of victims from the World Trade disaster, Bali bombing and Tsunami. This has required liaison with police and forensic specialists overseas and the establishment of international identification commissions. Smaller incidents have included the Istanbul bombing (2003), the Jordan Coach Crash (2004) and the Bahrain Boat Disaster (2006) where repatriations were made to the District via Heathrow Airport.