Murder victim's mother behind Helen's Law honoured at Buckingham Palace

Helen McCourt with her daughter Marie. Credit: PA Images

The mother of Helen McCourt who was murdered in St Helens has been honoured at Buckingham Palace.

Marie McCourt was made an MBE for services to families of murdered victims.

Helen McCourt, 22, was murdered after vanishing near the family home in 1988.

Marie McCourt was handed her MBE by the King.

Ian Simms, a local pub landlord, was handed a life sentence in 1989 for Helen's murder despite her body never being found, and he was released in 2020 before his death in 2022.

He always maintained his innocence, and never disclosed where he hid Helen’s body.

Following her daughter's death, Mrs McCourt's campaigning led to the Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Act, dubbed Helen’s Law, being enacted in 2021 – which made it harder for killers and paedophiles who hold back information on their victims to receive parole.

Killer of Helen McCourt dies without revealing location of her body
Marie McCourt, mother of Helen McCourt, after she gave evidence at a Parole board hearing on the release of Ian Simms Credit: Gareth Fuller/PA

She previously said about being made an MBE: "All these years I’ve done – it’s nice to see people be given these awards…who have had to do things which have hurt them so much because of the reasons why they want to make sure our laws are right and correct.

"I can see Helen’s face now looking at me from (a photo on) the mantelpiece and she has her hair in rollers and a big smile on her face and the reason was she was getting ready to go for New Year’s Eve.

"I think with Helen, she would just be so delighted that other families may not have to go through what we’ve had to go through."

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