Clause 18
Coroners and Justice Bill
4:15 pm
Henry Bellingham (Shadow Minister, Justice; North West Norfolk, Conservative)
Well, a Minister was interviewed alongside Dame Janet Smith, the editor of the Shipman report. Dame Janet made it clear that she was very concerned and unhappy about the post of medical examiner not being independent enough. Although she welcomes the appointment of medical examiners and feels that it is an important part of moving on from the post-Shipman era and using the Bill to update the service, her criticism of the clause was founded on her view that that medical examiners must be independent. Our clause, and its consequential amendment, achieve that aim.