A corporate manslaughter investigation has been launched after a 23-year-old man died when balcony railings gave way at his London flat, a pre-inquest review heard on Tuesday.
Incident Details
Joshua Robbins, 23, had ordered a takeaway pizza to his flat at Holland and Thurston Dwellings, in Holborn, central London, to share with his father. He leant on the railings of his balcony to check on the delivery when they are said to have collapsed on January 29. Will Robbins, 49, watched his son fall to his death.
The Metropolitan Police is carrying out a corporate manslaughter investigation, and Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA) is complying with requests for material, St Pancras Coroner’s Court heard.
Police Investigation
Detective Inspector Mark Paterson said the scene of Mr Robbins’s death was examined at the time, a forensic engineer attended, and CCTV has been obtained. He stated: “It’s an ongoing investigation, a lot of the material is held by ISHA who are fully compliant with requests that are being made at this stage.” The force is liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service.
DI Paterson said he hoped to provide the court with an update by January, and senior coroner Mary Hassell scheduled another pre-inquest review for January 6 2027.
Family's Response
Fiona Garrett, Joshua’s mother, previously said she is fronting the fight for answers as her ex-husband is “extremely traumatised”. The 46-year-old, who lives in Claudy, Co Londonderry, but is originally from Essex, sent an email to her son’s local MP, former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, requesting a meeting as part of her campaign for justice.
She told the Press Association: “They came back straight away and they were like ‘we want to help’ and they’re asking for information and stuff so that’s good. It did bring comfort actually. I thought ‘oh well, if I get a reply it would just be your bog standard, written by someone else (response) and he just won’t even know that it’s gone out’, but the fact that he wrote it so he actually signed it himself at the bottom and wrote a little bit extra, it did seem really genuine. When I showed Will, he was just like ‘oh my god the prime minister knows who our son was’. I said I’d even write to the King if I had to. The point is that he did matter, and he does matter, and everyone’s child should matter.”
His mother previously paid tribute to him, telling MyLondon: “Josh was deeply loved. He was gentle, kind, and quietly thoughtful — the sort of young man who made people feel valued in his company. He had plans and hopes for the future. Our lives have been irrevocably changed by his death.”
Ongoing Enquiries
A Met Police spokesperson said: “At this time our investigation remains ongoing, and we continue to liaise with the Crown Prosecution Service while enquiries continue. These enquiries can take some time given the nature of the investigation and complexities. Joshua’s family continue to be updated as the investigation continues and remain supported by specialist officers.”
