The senior coroner for Essex has been given a misconduct warning.

Caroline Beasley-Murray has been warned about her future conduct after a complaint against her for a delay in scheduling an inquest and failing to keep interested parties updated.

The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice concluded her actions constituted misconduct.

In a statement issued on May 29 the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) assured public the coroner had “taken steps to ensure there is no repetition of such delay”.

The JCIO has not revealed which case the complaint related to.

A spokesman for the Coroner’s Service said: “Inquests are an emotional and sensitive time and we seek to minimise any delays that may occur.

“In this instance the availability of expert reports resulted in a delay in the conclusion of the inquest.

“HM Senior Coroner for Essex has since spoken to the family, the inquest has been successfully concluded and the family had requested the complaint was withdrawn.

“Together Essex County Council and the HM Senior Coroner for Essex have worked hard to improve the timeliness of inquests.”