Shipman death inquest date set

Many victim's families said they felt "cheated" by Shipman's death

An inquest into the death of the serial killer Harold Shipman will be opened on Tuesday, it has been announced.

Shipman - who is believed to have murdered at least 215 of his patients - was found hanged at Wakefield Prison on the morning of 13 January.

The 57-year-old had been serving 15 life sentences for 15 murders, and four years for forging a will.

West Yorkshire Coroner David Hinchliff confirmed he would open and adjourn the inquest on Tuesday morning.

Angry

Prisons ombudsman Stephen Shaw will also carry out an investigation into Shipman's death, and a separate police inquiry is to be carried out.

The GP was on suicide watch at two other prisons earlier in his sentence, but not at Wakefield since his arrival on 18 June last year.

Following the conclusion of Shipman's trial in January 2000, a public inquiry was launched into how the GP was able to escape detection for so long.

It was chaired by High Court judge Dame Janet Smith, whose first report, in 2002, found the former GP had killed at least 215 patients and possibly as many as 260.

Her final report is due out in the summer.

Shipman's death provoked anger among some victims' relatives, including Jane Ashton-Hibbert, whose grandmother Hilda was unlawfully killed by Shipman.

She told BBC News she was angry he had been allowed to die because it seemed like an "easy way out" for him.