Legacy Funeral Directors inquiry: Hull MP 'pushing' for industry regulation
An MP said it is a "glaring omission" not to regulate funeral directors, as the investigation into Legacy Independent Funeral Directors continues.
Earlier this month police received reports of concerns for "care for the deceased" at the Hull-based funeral directors.
Thirty-five bodies were removed from a branch on Hessle Road and have now been identified.
Emma Hardy, the MP for Hull West and Hessle says she is meeting government ministers weekly as police inquiries continue.
A 46-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman, who were arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position, remain on bail. Ms Hardy revealed that Humberside Police has a 100-strong team working on the investigation in its major incident room.
"It is a huge investigation and the police are working tirelessly on behalf of the families who have been affected by this.“I am in regular contact with the Chief Constable and his team and my job as MP for Hull West and Hessle is to push for regulation of the sector to try and ensure that something like this can never happen again.
“To that end I have been meeting with ministers every week since this matter emerged. The government has promised there will be a call for evidence imminently.“Having spoken to experts within the sector it’s clear that mortuaries and crematoriums are regulated but for some reason funeral directors are not. That’s a glaring omission which needs to be dealt with.”
On Saturday, 23 March, a congregation of around a hundred people, including some families whose loved ones' funerals have been handled by Legacy, attended a vigil at Hull Minster.
Among them was Billie-Jo Suffill, a mother of three who used the company for the cremation of her brother and father who died in 2022.
She said the service was "heartbreaking but nice at the same time."
She said: "I was ringing all the funeral directors and no one would help me and then Legacy did so he was like my hero. He took my dad and brother off me and I was proud of myself thinking I have done them proud.
"I never received my dad’s ashes and now I have a fear that Dwain’s might not even be his. So whether it turns out alright the trauma is still real."
The Bishop of Hull, Rt Rev Dr Eleanor Sanderson said: "What I think is so difficult about this is the dishonourable journey that some people may have had, and so tonight we want to honour and dignify all the families as well as their loved ones."
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