Now inspect ALL UK funeral firms
Calls for urgent regulation of industry after shocking finds
FUNERAL firms and families sickened by the Hull body-handling scandal are calling for regulation with compulsory inspections.
Humberside Police said the remains of 35 people have been recovered alongside suspected human ashes from Legacy Independent Funeral Directors.
As the probe continues, Deputy Chief Constable Dave Marshall said more than 1,000 people have called a helpline expressing concern for loved ones.
Affected families are suffering “sleepless nights” and were further rocked to discover there are currently no compulsory inspections or official regulations.
Michael Fogg, an independent funeral director from Sheffield, said he has been calling for change for 17 years and has started a petition demanding regulation.
The 59-year-old said: “Hearing those families have been betrayed sickens me. You can’t begin to understand how they must be feeling. I thought the Post Office scandal was bad enough but this is a different a level. I sit with families every day, five days a week, at their lowest point who put all their trust in you to look after their loved one. I had two families from Hull who used that funeral director contact me. The stories were harrowing. A man has to identify his father, whose funeral should have taken place last summer and has been found in a mortuary.
“Is this an isolated incident? I doubt it. How many have decided not to do the cremation and take the money?
It needs to be regulated.”
Michael, who invites people to look around behind the scenes at his firm, revealed he phoned his local Environmental Health to ask to be inspected by Trading Standards. He said: “They told me it’s ‘something we don’t do’ but they would look into it and come back to me.” He also slammed the prices some operators charge, saying: “It’s unregulated, people can charge and do what they want. It’s embarrassing to say you’re a funeral director. I used to be proud.” As an example, he said they pay a local horse and carriage firm £950, adding: “That’s what our customers pay. But I know two companies who charge £1,800 for that same horse and carriage.” A man from Hull whose partner was supposed to have been looked after last October by Legacy backs the petition. The 55-year-old, who asked not to be named, said: “Funeral homes are meant to be the last place where our loved ones are looked after. A lot of us are having sleepless nights while waiting for the police to complete their investigation.
“I thought there was regulation, so to hear there wasn’t is a bit worrying. This should be in place as soon as possible.”
Mortuary and embalming firm owner Steven Todd said he was “shocked and appalled” by the scandal, adding regulation of funeral firms by Government or local authorities is “long overdue”.
Emma Hardy, Labour MP for Hull West and Hessle, said: “Having spoken to ministers, I am calling for the process of bringing all funeral directors under a regulatory system to begin without delay, starting with a consultation.
“This would be the first step in ensuring what has happened at Legacy will never be repeated.”
A man aged 46 and a woman aged 23 arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position have been released on bail.