Top QC left under freezing air vent in hospital before his death after operation, inquest hears

A leading barrister who died following heart surgery complications was placed under a “freezing air vent” in hospital, an inquest has heard.

Sir Desmond de Silva, whose high-profile clients included former England captain John Terry and astronaut Buzz Aldrin, suffered repercussions from an operation last year and died on June 2, aged 78.

The QC had built a reputation as a formidable defence advocate, appearing in more than 250 murder trials and receiving a knighthood for his work in 2007.

At the bar, he helped clear Terry of grievous bodily harm in 2002 and oversaw the acquittal of former Leeds United midfielder Lee Bowyer  of the same charge in an explosive 2001 trial.

Sir Desmond also worked as an international lawyer and served as the chief war crimes prosecutor for the United Nations in Sierra Leone.

On Wednesday a solicitor representing Sir Desmond’s family raised concern about levels of care at the Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea, west London, where he had been treated.

David Story told Westminster Coroner’s Court: "There are some concerns the family have in relation to the care and monitoring on the ward.

"One, staffing levels on the ward, two, infection levels on the ward, in particular, a lot of staff seemed to be unwell and some of the patients seemed to have infections or flu-type symptoms.

"And the measures that were put in place by the trust to prevent any spread of that infection."

He added: "The fact that Sir Desmond was placed under what the family have described as a freezing air vent with cold air being poured onto him for an extended period."

Suspected issues including broken dialysis machines could have also "caused a delay" to treatment, the lawyer continued.

However senior coroner Fiona Wilcox suggested the scope of her investigation would be more limited, saying: "Those are issues the family may wish to explore outside the court."

Dr Wilcox said she ordered a pre-inquest review because "various matters" needed to be addressed before the full inquest.

Sir Desmond was admitted to the hospital for elective heart surgery on November 27 2017, "which sadly was complicated", the coroner said.

She added: "I have reason to suspect that before this procedure started the whole chain of events, this death would not have occurred."

Sir Desmond had suffered a damaged aortic valve and also had a temporary pacemaker removed while at the hospital in December 2017, the inquest heard.

He then suffered a stroke which was confirmed by the beginning of January 2018.

The coroner scheduled a three-day inquest to begin on April 30, 2019.

She said the main matters would be "the complications that occurred rather than the surgery itself".

Reports related to the death will be handed to the coroner before the inquest.

During a long and varied career, Sir Desmond claimed to have advised “senior military figures and influential individuals from the financial and political world”.

He saved the future prime minister of Kenya, Raila Odigna, from the death penalty in the 1980s and later led a public inquiry investigating collusion between MI5 and hitmen during the Northern Irish Troubles.