en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman
2 corrections found
250 confirmed (15 convicted), possibly more
The Shipman Inquiry did not 'confirm' 250 victims. Dame Janet Smith's final conclusion was that Shipman killed about 250 patients in total, but she said she could positively identify 218 of them.
Full reasoning
This overstates the certainty of the Inquiry's findings.
In the official parliamentary summary of Dame Janet Smith's Sixth Report, the Government quoted her conclusion verbatim:
"My overall conclusion, therefore, is that Shipman killed about 250 patients between 1971 and 1998, of whom I have been able positively to identify 218."
So 250 was the Inquiry's overall estimate, not the number of victims it had positively identified or "confirmed." The more precise way to describe the finding is that Shipman was convicted of 15 murders, the Inquiry later positively identified 218 victims, and it estimated the total toll at about 250.
2 sources
- Westminster Hall - Shipman Inquiry (Hansard, 21 June 2007)
"My overall conclusion, therefore, is that Shipman killed about 250 patients between 1971 and 1998, of whom I have been able positively to identify 218."
- Report puts UK doctor's total murder toll at 250 - ABC News
"The true scale of Shipman's crimes could only ever be an estimate," she said in the sixth publication produced by her team.
the person(s) organising the funeral must answer, "Do you know or suspect that the death of the person who has died was violent or unnatural? Do you consider that there should be any further examination of the remains of the person who has died?"
That is not the question on the current cremation form in England and Wales. The official Cremation 1 form was revised on 9 September 2024 and now asks different questions.
Full reasoning
This statement is outdated in present tense.
The Ministry of Justice's official page says the cremation application form for deaths in England or Wales was last updated on 9 September 2024. The current Cremation 1 form no longer contains the quoted question about whether the death was "violent or unnatural" or whether there should be further examination of the remains.
Instead, the current form asks questions such as whether the applicant is a near relative or executor, whether any other relative has objected, the date and place of death, the attending medical practitioner, and whether an implantable medical device may become hazardous during cremation.
So while older cremation paperwork may have contained wording like this, the article's claim that applicants must answer that specific question on the current England-and-Wales form is no longer correct after the 2024 reform.
2 sources
- Cremation application form for deaths that occurred in England or Wales - GOV.UK
Last updated: 9 September 2024. The page says this is the form to use for deaths occurring in England or Wales where the cremation will take place in England or Wales.
- Cremation 1: Application for cremation of the body of a person who has died
The revised form asks whether the applicant is a near relative or executor, whether anyone has objected to the cremation, and at question 4 asks whether any implantable medical device may become hazardous when the body is cremated.