FUNERAL directors must be regulated to stop rogue operators, warn experts investigating the NHS morgue monster David Fuller.
Fuller was sentenced to life in prison for murdering two women and sexually abusing the bodies of more than 100 at hospitals in Kent.
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Sir Jonathan Michael, chair of the inquiry into his crimes, said the funeral industry needs urgent reform.
He said he has sped up his work due to “recent distressing reports”.
Three people were arrested in the summer in connection with a funeral home in Hull, East Yorks, after families found loved ones’ remains had been mixed up or lost.
Past incidents have seen bodies treated inappropriately or left to rot in funeral parlours.
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NHS hospital mortuaries have also been found to be too small, too warm or not properly secured.
Anyone can set themselves up as a funeral director and keep the bodies in their garage without anybody being able to stop them. That cannot be right
Sir Jonathan Michael
The Fuller inquiry found funeral directors do not need a licence, qualifications or training, and described the sector as an “unregulated free-for-all”.
Sir Jonathan said: “It is clear to me that many people believe or assume that the sector is already regulated, and they are shocked to find this is not the case.
“The fact is that anyone can set themselves up as a funeral director.
“They could do it from their home and keep the bodies of the deceased in their garage without anybody being able to stop them.
“That cannot be right.
“My hope is that publishing this interim report now will assist both the Government and the funeral sector itself to take steps that assure the public that care in the funeral sector is fit for purpose.
“We need a regulatory regime that will not tolerate any form of abuse or any practices that compromise the security and dignity of the deceased.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “The Government is committed to preventing any similar atrocities happening again and ensuring
that the deceased are safeguarded and treated with dignity.”
FULLER ‘FREE TO OFFEND’ DUE TO HOSPITAL FAILINGS
MORGUE monster David Fuller was free to assault dead women for 15 years due to “serious failings” at the hospitals where he worked, a report found.
The double killer abused at least 101 women while working at mortuaries in Tunbridge Wells Hospital and at the former Kent and Sussex Hospital.
A probe found there were “missed opportunities” to stop the necrophiliac’s 15-year rampage.
His youngest victim was a nine-year-old girl and the oldest was 100 years old, with Fuller sometimes violating the bodies more than once.
Inquiry chairman Sir Jonathan Michael said: “Failures of management, of governance, of regulation, failure to follow standard policies and procedures, together with a persistent lack of curiosity, all contributed to the creation of the environment in which he was able to offend, and to do so for 15 years without ever being suspected or caught.
“Over the years, there were missed opportunities to question Fuller’s working practices.
“Had his colleagues, managers and senior leaders been more curious, it is likely that he would have had less opportunity to offend.”
