Bereaved advise on inquest reform

The existing system dates back around 700 years

Bereaved relatives are to form an advice panel giving MPs feedback on proposed reforms to the inquest system in England and Wales.

Eight women and four men with recent experience of inquests will comment on the draft Coroner Bill on 18 October.

Constitutional Affairs Minister Harriet Harman said they had been asked as the reforms aimed to make the inquest process better for bereaved relatives.

"So who better to help us be sure the law will do what we hope?" she said.

"Bereaved families will help Parliament shape a better inquest service."

Ms Harman added that the members of the public on the panel had had both "good and bad" experiences of the coroner system.

The panellists are from different areas, including Leeds, Poole, Reading, Watford and Penarth.

Under the draft Bill, coroners could ban the media from naming a dead person or publishing information that revealed his or her identity.

People would also be able to ask for a "second opinion" on death certificates under the plans.

The changes come partly in response to criticisms of the inquest system in the wake of the Harold Shipman murders.

Dr Harold Shipman was jailed for life in 2000 for murdering 15 patients while a GP at Hyde, Greater Manchester. He hanged himself in Wakefield Prison in January 2004.

The proposed reforms currently apply to England and Wales only, although Northern Ireland has a similar coroners' system.

In Scotland responsibility for investigating sudden and unexplained death falls to the Procurators Fiscal.

Every year, around 200,000 deaths are reported to coroners in England and Wales.

The existing coroners' system in the two countries can trace its roots back over 700 years.