Dr. Maeve O'Rourke:

I would be grateful if at some point Professor Scraton might come in and discuss this more but there are a few things I would like to point out. The question of an Article 2 European Convention on Human Rights, ECHR, inquest goes beyond the immediate cause of death to include contextual causes and circumstances as well. There is evidence that needs to be gained that does not just come from the body. It is also worth pointing out that section 22 of the Coroners Act 1962 states:

Where the body of any person upon which it is necessary to hold an inquest has been buried and it is known to the coroner that no good purpose will be effected by exhuming the body for the purposes of an inquest, he may proceed to hold an inquest without having exhumed the body.

Section 23 takes this further, mentioning the scenario where a body may be "irrecoverable". That is important because we have hundreds of bodies with no known locations and the answer cannot be to just not investigate. Section 23 states that where a body may be irrecoverable and the coroner considers it appropriate to hold an inquest, the Minister may order the coroner accordingly. It is worth saying that and perhaps in due course Professor Scraton can add to that.