Marie van der Zyl urges Jewish residents to make their voices heard at Inner North London Coroner consultation

Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl has urged Jewish residents in North London to make their voices heard at the Inner North London Coroner consultation on case prioritisation to be held at Camden Town Hall on Thursday 5 July at 6pm.

She said: “It is critical that as many Jewish residents turn out as possible – not just those who live in the affected boroughs – Camden, Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets, but anyone who could use a hospital, such as the Royal Free, in that area.”

Judges at the High Court recently ruled that the area’s senior coroner, Mary Hassell, had unlawfully implemented a cab-rank rule, whereby cases would be processed on a first come first served basis. They argued that this was blind to the various needs of families – including Jewish and Muslim families who require a quick release to allow for burial, and was therefore discriminatory.

Marie added: “While the judges said that it was possible to have some kind of policy regarding the ordering of cases, they called for ‘applied common sense’ and for Ms Hassell to use her judgement. We would rather she concentrate on accepting Camden Council’s offer on behalf of the four boroughs where she operates of £80,000 to implement an out-of-hours service and work with the community, which would relieve pressure and reduce the need for any ordering protocol.”

You can find out more about the Jewish community’s priorities on the issue here.