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| - A UK inquest into the 2004 sinking of a French fishing vessel off the coast of southern England should resume in early October the judge presiding over the case said on Friday. Legal wrangling over the mysterious sinking of the Bugaled Breizh fishing trawler has dragged on over the past 17 years in courts in France and in Britain after the vessel capsized in international waters. The ship's entire crew: French nationals Yves Gloaguen, Pascal Le Floch, Georges Lemetayer, Patrick Gloaguen, and Eric Guillamet all perished in the sinking. The British coroner is charged with conducting an inquest into the deaths of Gloaguen, 45, and Floch, 49 after the two men, the only members of the crew whose bodies were recovered, were found by UK search and rescue. A series of French court cases, which concluded in the court of appeal in 2016, ruled out a central claim that a submarine was involved in the sinking. British and NATO submarines were in the area for military exercises at the time. But in the British inquest, the families of the victims have pushed for a full re-examination of all expert testimony, some of which did not definitively rule out the possibility a submarine was involved. At a pre-inquest hearing at London's Old Bailey on Friday, Judge Nigel Lickley, acting as coroner, said he would look to restart proceedings in early October over a period of two to three weeks. The case had been previously delayed because of Covid-19 restrictions and to allow legal proceedings to conclude in France. Lickley also said the inquest had been informed by the UK Ministry of Defence that "no non-allied submarines" were present at the time of the sinking. The judge, speaking to the families in northern France via video link, offered his condolences and said it was his intention to "carry out a full, rigorous and fair investigation". Addressing the judge, Thierry Lemetayer, son of one of the fishermen, Georges Lemetayer, emphasised that the families wished to see the views of all experts considered and for the case to be heard before a jury. "I wanted to say how grateful we are to British justice," Lemetayer said, thanking the British Ministry of Defence for its involvement. Edward Pleeth, counsel for the ministry said he accepted "some evidence for submarine involvement should be read" but this should be "mainly to allay public suspicion". The Ministry of Defence and the Royal Navy have denied claims a British submarine was involved in the sinking. A further hearing before the full inquest is expected in the coming months. csp/jwp/pvh
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