Coroner orders Surrey County Council to disclose 24,000 documents in Sara Sharif inquest

Senior Coroner Richard Travers has ordered Surrey County Council to disclose 24,606 unredacted documents related to the siblings of Sara Sharif as part of the inquest into her death. The council had previously argued that only 660 documents were relevant to the proceedings, a position Mr. Travers rejected, stating that the small percentage “rings alarm bells.”

Representing the council, Alethea Redfern argued that full disclosure was “disproportionate” and risked revealing information about other children. However, the coroner maintained that it is his responsibility, not the council's, to determine what is relevant to the investigation. He noted that disclosure has been delayed for months.

Sara Sharif was found dead in her family home in Woking in August 2023. In December 2024, her father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, were convicted of her murder. Her uncle, Faisal Malik, was also found guilty of causing or allowing her death. The coroner has set a deadline of October 2 for the production of the files, warning that if they are not provided, Surrey County Council chief executive Terence Herbert will be summoned to court to explain the authority’s position.