Religious leaders call on government to reinstate out of hours burial service

Religious leaders meeting Michael Gove at the House of Commons.

Hackney’s religious leaders have met with government ministers to discuss their concerns about the coroner service in London.

In a meeting earlier this week representatives from the Muslim and Jewish communities told the Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove MP that burial delays were “traumatising” the community.

Both faiths require burials to take place as soon as practicable after death but the out of hours service was scrapped by the Coroner for Inner North London Mary Hassell in 2013.

Rabbi Gratt, who has been liaising with coroner’s offices on behalf of the Jewish community for over 25 years, has said that people are “traumatised” by the way deaths are being handled.

Ms Hassell has also faced criticism over the ordering of autopsies – the desecration of the body is considered to be a key breach of Muslim and Jewish religious belief.

Next month a Judicial Review hearing is due to take place over the allegation that Ms Hassell has on various occasions refused to allow post-mortem imaging (CT scanning) to be used at first instance, and has instead ordered a fully invasive autopsy.

But in a letter to Camden Council seen by the Hackney Citizen, Ms Hassell said that claims she does not allow CT scanning were “untrue”.

Trevor Asserson a senior partner at the law firm acting on behalf of the faith communities said that while a Judicial Review could be pursued to try and reinstall the out-of-hours service, it would be “preferable for Government to take a lead on such matters, which deal with the basic human right to practice one’s religion”.

A Ministry of Justice Spokesperson said: “The Secretary of State was very happy to meet with community leaders to hear from them about their first-hand experiences of the system.

“We are sympathetic to the concerns raised during the meeting. We will now look further at these issues and work together to determine the best course of action.”

Ms Hassell has been approached for comment.