Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl has written to Chief Coroner Mark Lucraft to complain about the conduct of a case concerning a Jewish man whose death was mishandled by Senior Coroner for Inner North London, Mary Hassell.
Robert Hill and his family visited Ms Hassell to request priority treatment to speed up the process of releasing his deceased father’s body. Not only did Ms Hassell keep the family waiting for an entire day, she did not show them the courtesy of meeting them. Although she later offered to help speed up the process there were still delays in the system.
The Board of Deputies has been assisting Mr Hill’s local MP Matthew Offord in this matter and have forwarded the letter to the University College Hospital’s local MP Sir Keir Starmer and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl said: “I am so sorry for Mr Hill and his family who have suffered extra anxiety at a time of intense grief. I am doubly disappointed that this case again involves Mary Hassell whose conduct in 2018 led to a successful court case brought by the Adath Yisroel Burial Society to ensure that Ms Hassell would even consider giving priority to a family who requested it. We hope the Chief Coroner can assist us in resolving this distressing matter.”