THE lead barrister in last autumn’s ten-day Grayrigg train crash inquest was paid nearly £40,000 by taxpayers, the Gazette can reveal.

Jonathan Hough was counsel to the inquest into the death of 84-year-old Margaret Masson, the only passenger killed in the 2007 derailment.

Assisting South and East Cumbria Coroner, Ian Smith, Mr Hough guided around 30 witnesses through evidence at Kendal County Hall between October 24 and November 4 last year.

The information was released to The Westmorland Gazette after a request made under the Freedom of Information Act.

Mr Hough, who worked on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and the inquest into the death of Princess Diana, received £39,690.30, said Cumbria County Council.

The total cost of the inquest was £164,974.20 and included £4,583.53 in expenses claimed by jury members and witnesses and £990 in food.

The inquest included dramatic accounts from those aboard the Virgin Pendolino, which crashed at 95mph on February 23, plus technical evidence from rail experts.

It was one of the highest-profile inquests in the country in 2011 and concluded that a faulty set of track points had caused the train to derail and, ultimately, Mrs Masson’s death.

In April, Network Rail was fined £4 million for breaches of health and safety law over the accident.

The prosecution was brought by the Office of Rail Regulation after evidence raised during Mrs Masson’s inquest.