§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many victims of the Marchioness disaster had their hands severed by the authorities; and for what purpose this was done;
(2) who decided to sever the hands of some of the victims of the Marchioness disaster;
(3) who decided which victims of the Marchioness disaster should have their hands severed.
§ Mr. Charles WardleI understand from the Westminster coroner that hands were removed from the140W decomposed bodies of 25 victims of the Marchioness disaster, for the purpose of enabling fingerprinting to be carried out to assist in the process of identification. This was done on the coroner's authority, in the light of advice from the Metropolitan police and the pathologist on the best methods of establishing the identity of the bodies concerned. The question of which bodies needed to have the hands removed was a matter for decision by a Metropolitan police senior fingerprinting officer. Coroners are independent judicial officers and Ministers have no authority to comment upon the way in which a coroner conducts his inquiries in any individual case.