RESEARCHER Sarah McGuinness – the recipient of a series of letters written by Anthony Hardy – believes the killer was failed by his community care plan.
The 53-year-old, who was once one of Hardy’s closest confidantes, said: “Hardy was known to be an alcoholic with violent tendencies. It was known he was estranged from his immediate family and deported from Australia for attempting to murder his wife while under the influence of alcohol. Why were none of these issues addressed?”
Her comments are part of evidence she submitted to the independent inquiry examining the care that Hardy received and probing the decision to release him from St Luke’s Hospital in Muswell Hill.
It is the first piece of evidence to have reached the public domain amid tight security over the report’s publication.
Ms McGuinness said: “I believe Tony Hardy’s Community Care Assessment Plan failed him. The mental health services let him down badly and this led to unnecessary tragedies as a consequence of Camden and Islington Mental Health Trust failing to meet his needs.”
Ms McGuinness said in her evidence: “It is my opinion the mental health services failed to take Hardy’s alcohol intake and the consequences of his behaviour seriously. Had Hardy been placed in a suitable residential alcoholic rehabilitation centre qualified to deal with the emotional problems that drive him to abuse alcohol, these fatalities may have been avoided.”