Clause 1
10:30 am
Henry Bellingham (Shadow Minister, Justice; North West Norfolk, Conservative)
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I was perhaps getting carried away in suggesting that the provision might cover that.
Clause 5(1) of the draft Bill addressed deaths outside the United Kingdom:
“The duty of a senior coroner to conduct an investigation into the death of a person under section 1 does not arise where the death occurred outside the United Kingdom”.
Clause 6 of the draft Bill was supplemental, and it explained exactly what should happen when a death occurs outside the United Kingdom. That is why new clause 9 makes it crystal clear that in that circumstance there will be a proper investigation:
“(1) The following provisions shall have effect in connection with the investigation of deaths of British subjects occurring abroad.
(2) When the body is returned to a coroner’s area, the senior coroner must conduct an investigation, when one is appropriate, under the Coroners Act.
(3) When there is no body, or when the body has been buried or cremated outside England or Wales, the relatives of the deceased may, within six months of the death (or the presumed date of the death), apply to the Chief Coroner for an investigation to be held.”
It spells out what should happen when a death occurs abroad.
We have all come across tragic constituency cases. I had one recently that involved a constituent whose son was murdered in India while carrying out aid work for a charity of which he was a founder member. My constituent contacted to me to press for action:
“We have had a total lack of information from the Indian police...the only information we have had is the post mortem result, which was very badly carried out. Our one source of information has been the coroners office, & even they have had a lack of co operation from the Indian police. So I hope you can understand my concern. Without the coroners office & the inquest (which has yet to be held) we would know nothing.”
I feel very strongly that when one loses a loved one abroad, the United Kingdom should make every conceivable effort to ensure that some closure is brought to the family. Although my constituent, Mrs. Mary Whitford, points out how competent and understanding the Foreign Office was, she feels that the Bill should spell out what should happen.
The Minister may well point us to provisions in the Bill that allow such inquests to take place as a matter of course. I feel, however, that although clause 1 is a good start to the Bill, new clause 9 is needed to complement it and to clarify what happens when a death occurs abroad.