Petition taken to No.10

Campaigner Linda Hawker hands in her petition at Number 10 Downing Street.Campaigner Linda Hawker hands in her petition at Number 10 Downing Street.
Campaigner Linda Hawker hands in her petition at Number 10 Downing Street.
A grieving mum took her fight for justice to the very top by delivering a 1,600 signature petition to Downing Street.

Linda Hawker and her daughters, Leander and Paige, travelled to the capital to hand over the petition at Number 10.

The family, their barrister Naeem Siraj and Wakefield MP Mary Creagh are hoping to get justice for Daniel Atkinson.

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Daniel and his friend Jade Rice, both 17, died when a speeding car driven by a care worker crashed into a lamppost in 2006.

An inquest held in 2008 heard Mohammed Tanwir had been driving at 80mph or more in a 40mph area when he lost control of the car.

Coroner Roger Whittaker concluded the teenagers had been unlawfully killed, but he would not refer the case to back to the Department of Public Prosecution.

A judge had previously ruled that there was insufficient evidence to put a charge of causing death by dangerous driving before a jury.

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Mr Tanwir had been acquitted of a lesser charge of failing to stop during a trial at Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court.

In 2010 the then Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC also blocked a request for further action.

But Daniel’s mum has not given up on her battle to see Mr Tanwir prosecuted.

Together with Daniel’s friends, Miss Hawker spent many hours collecting signatures in towns and city centres in West Yorkshire to drum up support for a petition.

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Miss Hawker, of Westgate, Wakefield, decided to visit Dewsbury because Daniel had lived in Healds Road for several years.

She said: “There are so many unanswered questions about what happened that day.

“I really hope the petition will help. It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like this.

“The support we have had has been overwhelming, so it was definitely worth a try.”

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Ms Creagh MP said: “I have been supporting this campaign for the past seven years.

“We must get to the truth of what happened that day. Daniel and Jade deserve justice.”

Downing Street officials now have to take advice on the case from the Ministry of Justice.

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