Oral Answers to Questions

Antony Higginbotham Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

The Lord Chancellor will be aware of my constituent Kelly Ormerod, whose parents sadly died while on holiday in Egypt more than two years ago. Unfortunately, in the last two years, the UK coroner has been unable to get the answers he needs to be able to identify the cause of death. That has caused great anxiety for the family and denied them the answers that they are looking for. Would the Lord Chancellor therefore meet me and Kelly to see how we can progress this case through the UK coroner to give them the answers they deserve?

[Robert Buckland]

My hon. Friend has worked tirelessly on this very sensitive and sad case, and I pay tribute to him for his hard work on behalf of his constituents. I am sure that this delay is causing them additional distress, and of course I will be happy to meet him. He knows that, sadly, the Government cannot compel the production of documents for a coroner investigation from the Egyptian authorities, but my officials have indeed contacted the senior coroner in the local area for more details and an update, and I understand that the senior coroner has now written to the Egyptian prosecutor general.