The disclosure provides an inertial sensor comprising, a fixed support structure, one or more test
mass-sensing microresonators and one or more datum sensing microresonators supported on the fixed support structure, each microresonator supporting a corresponding
optical resonance. The inertial sensor also comprises a micro-electromechanical structure including: a suspension structure anchored to the fixed support structure at an
anchor point; one or more flexures coupled to the suspension structure; a test
mass suspended from the suspension structure by the one or more flexures to be deflectable under the application of an inertial force on the micro-electromechanical structure, the test
mass suspended to have respective deflection sense portions each facing and non-contiguous with one of the one or more test mass-sensing microresonators; the suspension structure comprising one or more rigid protrusions extending to locations
proximate to the deflection sense portions of the test mass to provide datum sense portions each facing and non-contiguous with one of the one or more datum sensing microresonators, the datum sense portions being fixed relative to the
anchor point and the test mass being deflectable relative to the datum sense portions. A change in a spacing between the deflection sense portions and the test mass-sensing microresonators due to an inertial force acting on the test mass causes a change in the
optical resonance characteristics of the test mass-sensing microresonators, detectable to generate a sensing
signal indicative of the inertial force on the test mass. A change in a spacing between the datum sense portions and the datum sensing microresonators due to undesired relative structural movements causes a change in the
optical resonance characteristics of the datum sensing microresonators, detectable to generate an
error signal usable to correct the measurement of the inertial force by the test mass-sensing microresonators.