FIVE officers at the centre of an investigation into the death of a man in police custody have two weeks to apply for anonymity, a coroner said yesterday.

A pre-inquest review into the case of Oxford's Nuno Cardoso, 25, heard that the officers have not been named in a redacted report.

Coroner Darren Salter said: "There are only limited grounds for anonymity. There could be a case based on information I am not aware of from Thames Valley Police (TVP).

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"The idea was that we would have reached that stage by now."

Mr Cardoso, of Ruskin Hall, Dunstan Road, died on November 24, 2017. He was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital after being put in the back of a police van near Abingdon.

Mr Salter told Oxford Coroner's Court that, for anonymity to be granted, there would need to be a 'real and immediate' threat to officers 'B1 to B5'.

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The Independent Office for Police Conduct's report into Mr Cardoso's death has been completed, but it is unlikely to be made publicly available until after the full inquest is conducted. Even then, only a summary is expected to be made available.

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That inquest, which could see up to 20 witnesses attend, is scheduled for between July 8 and 19.

Francesca Whitelaw, representing TVP, said she had not been instructed on whether any of the officers would seek anonymity. South Central Ambulance Service's Jennifer Saunders said no one from her organisation would seek it.

A further pre-inquest review will be heard on May 14. Two other preliminary hearings have already been heard.