{"success":true,"data":{"id":"7c0bc50f-5489-4654-8110-fbf60fab1fe8","title":"Police launch corporate manslaughter investigation after man fatally fell from London balcony","summary":"US Edition Change Support Now × \"Clear search box\") Custom Search Sort by Relevance Date NewsNews World CupWorld Cup SportsSports CultureCulture LifestyleLifestyle MoneyMoney TravelTravel PremiumPremium More More Thank you for registering Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the si...","content":"US Edition Change\n\nSupport Now\n\n[×](javascript:void(0) \"Clear search box\")\n\nCustom Search\n\nSort by\n\nRelevance\n\nDate\n\n*   News[News](https://www.independent.co.uk/us)\n\n*   World Cup[World Cup](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup)\n\n*   Sports[Sports](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport)\n\n*   Culture[Culture](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment)\n\n*   Lifestyle[Lifestyle](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style)\n\n*   Money[Money](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/money)\n\n*   Travel[Travel](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/travel)\n\n*   Premium[Premium](https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium)\n\nMore\n\nMore\n\n### Thank you for registering\n\nPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in\n\n# Police launch corporate manslaughter investigation after man fatally fell from London balcony\n\n## Detective Inspector Mark Paterson said the scene was examined at the time and a forensic engineer attended\n\n[Jordan Reynolds](https://www.independent.co.uk/author/jordan-reynolds)Tuesday 21 July 2026 22:38 BST\n\n*   Copy link  \n*   Bookmark  \n\n## Bookmark popover\n\nRemoved from bookmarks\n\nClose popover\n\nopen image in gallery\n\nJoshua Robbins died after his balcony railings gave way and he fell from his flat(Family handout)\n\n### For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails\n\nEmail *\n\n- [x] \n\nI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our[Privacy notice](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/privacy-policy-a6184181.html)\n\n \n\nThe death of a man who fell from his balcony while waiting for a takeaway is being investigated as corporate [manslaughter](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/manslaughter) by police, a pre-inquest review heard.\n\nJoshua Robbins, 23, had ordered a takeaway pizza to his flat at Holland and Thurston Dwellings, in Holborn, central [London](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/london), to share with his father and leant on the railings of his balcony to check on the delivery when they are said to have collapsed on 29 January.\n\nWill Robbins, 49, watched his son fall to his death.\n\nThe [Metropolitan Police](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/metropolitan-police) is carrying out a corporate [manslaughter](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/manslaughter) investigation and Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association is complying with requests for material, a pre-inquest review heard on Tuesday.\n\nThe force is liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service, St Pancras Coroner’s Court heard.\n\nDetective Inspector Mark Paterson said the scene of Mr Robbins’s death was examined at the time and a forensic engineer attended, and CCTV has been obtained.\n\nFiona Garrett with her son Joshua Robbins who died after his balcony railings gave way and he fell from his flat(PA)\n\nDI Paterson said: “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.”\n\nHe said he hoped to provide the court with an update on the investigation by January, and senior coroner Mary Hassell scheduled another pre-inquest review for January 6 2027.\n\nFiona Garrett, Joshua’s mother, previously said she is fronting the fight for answers as her ex-husband is “extremely traumatised”.\n\nThe 46-year-old, who lives in Claudy, Co Londonderry, but is originally from Essex, sent an email to her son’s local MP, the former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, requesting a meeting as part of her campaign for justice.\n\nFiona Garrett, Joshua’s mother, previously said she is fronting the fight for answers as her ex-husband is ‘extremely traumatised’(Family handout)\n\nShe previously said: “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.\n\n“It did bring comfort actually.\n\n“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.\n\n“When I showed Will, he was just like ‘oh my god the prime minister knows who our son was’.\n\n“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.”\n\nA Met Police spokesperson said: “At this time our investigation remains ongoing, and we continue to liaise with the Crown Prosecution Service while enquiries continue.\n\n“These enquiries can take some time given the nature of the investigation and complexities.\n\n“Joshua’s family continue to be updated as the investigation continues and remain supported by specialist officers.”\n\n### More about","source_name":"The Independent","source_url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/joshua-robbins-fall-death-holborn-b3018997.html","url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/joshua-robbins-fall-death-holborn-b3018997.html","author":"Jordan Reynolds","author_name":"Jordan Reynolds","published_at":"2026-07-21T21:38:57.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-21T21:38:57.000Z","image_url":"https://static.independent.co.uk/2026/02/16/16/03/SEI285413436.jpeg","category":"world","topic":"world","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":4,"word_count":680,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot","language":null}}