House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Desecration of Corpses: Criminalisation

Tuesday 8 December 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

The bodies of those who have died should be treated with dignity and respect.
There are existing criminal offences that may apply to cases of desecration of a corpse.
The recent law named Helen's law received Royal Assent, partly due to the campaigning efforts of Mrs McCourt.

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Questions & Answers

Q1 Kieran Mullan Con Bexhill and Battle

Crime & Law Enforcement

Context

No specific background provided, but the MP is concerned about ensuring respect for the deceased.

Question

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of criminalising the desecration of a corpse.

Answer from Alex Chalk

The bodies of those who have died should be treated with dignity and respect. Where that does not happen, the criminal law can intervene and there are a number of offences that may apply: preventing the lawful burial of a body, outraging public decency, perverting the course of justice, removing human tissue without consent and so on. We will of course keep the law under review.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific merits or demerits of criminalising corpse desecration were not directly addressed

How: Keep The Matter Under Review

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Q2 Kieran Mullan Con Bexhill and Battle

Justice & Courts

Context

The MP is supporting Helen McCourt's mother, who successfully campaigned for 'Helen's law'. The mother wants to see further reforms.

Question

I thank the Minister for that reply. I am supporting the campaign of the mother of Helen McCourt, whom we know in this place for successfully campaigning on Helen's law, but who is equally determined, while understanding the points the Minister has made, to see further reform so that the criminal justice system adequately reflects how we would feel if one of our loved ones was desecrated after death. Will he agree to meet me and discuss with Helen McCourt's mother further steps we might be able to take?

Answer from Alex Chalk

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that excellent point and for paying tribute to Mrs McCourt, whose brave campaign has led to Helen's law, as he rightly indicates, getting on to the statute book, having recently received Royal Assent, in large part because of her campaigning activity. We keep the matter under review, and I would be delighted to meet him, as he suggests.