{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Use British English|date=October 2014}} '''Iain West''' (25 April 1944 – 23 July 2001)<ref name="Indy Obit">{{Cite news|title=Iain West|last=Hunt|first=Bill|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/iain-west-729276.html|date=2001-07-28|work=The Independent|location=London}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="Guardian Obit">{{cite news|last=Anscombe|first=Allen|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/aug/17/guardianobituaries1|title=Obituary: Iain West|work=The Guardian|location=London|publisher=Guardian Media Group|date=17 August 2001|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref> was a British forensic pathologist.
==Early life== West was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 25 April 1944, the son of a Squadron leader in the Royal Air Force.<ref name="Guardian Obit" /> He was educated at Carre's Grammar School in Sleaford before returning to Scotland to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1967.<ref name="Guardian Obit" /> His early career interest was hematology but he quickly turned to forensic pathology whilst at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge and studied with Austin Gresham.<ref name="Guardian Obit" />
==Career== West was involved in examining numerous deaths, many which are described in the book ''Dr Iain West's Casebook'', which he published in collaboration with the journalist Chester Stern. From 1984 to 1998 he was head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Guy's Hospital.
Among the deaths West investigated were that of Robert Maxwell. Maxwell had fallen, jumped or been pushed overboard his yacht ''Lady Ghislaine'' on 5 November 1991. West was commissioned by the insurance company to examine whether the death was accidental, a suicide or murder. £20 million were to be paid if the death was accident or murder.{{sfnp|Stern|1996|p=17}} West declared that Maxwell's death was likely to be suicide.<ref name="BBC 1999">{{Cite news|title=Iain West: A witness to tragedy|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/470160.stm|date=9 October 1999|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>
West also carried out the post-mortem examinations of the BBC TV presenter Jill Dando,<ref name="BBC 1999" /> the British police officer Yvonne Fletcher who was shot from the Libyan embassy in 1984,{{sfnp|Stern|1996|p=37}} and Kenyan Minister for Foreign Affairs Robert Ouko.<ref name="BBC May 1999">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/355398.stm|title=Africa Kenyan political murder back in court|publisher=BBC News|location=London|date=28 May 1999|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref>
West also played a part in the release of the British soldier Lee Clegg who had been convicted for murder.{{sfnp|Stern|1996|p=352-}}
== Personal life == West's second wife was Vesna Djurovic, also a noted pathologist.
West died on 23 July 2001 in Hastings, East Sussex.
==Publications==
* {{cite book|last1=Knapman|first1=Paul A|author-link=Paul Knapman|last2=West|first2=Iain E|authorlink2=Iain West|title=Medicine and the Law|publisher=Heinemann Medical|year=1989|isbn=0433187409}}
== References == {{reflist}}
*{{Cite book|last=Stern|first=Chester|title=Dr Iain West's Casebook: The Chilling Investigations of Britain's Leading Forensic Pathologist|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|isbn=0-316-87788-3|year=1996}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Iain}} Category:1944 births Category:2001 deaths Category:Scottish forensic pathologists