Victims of disgraced funeral boss demand industry regulation

Relatives of victims are calling for the funeral industry to be regulated after the crimes of disgraced funeral director Robert Bush were revealed. Bush was jailed for 20 years for failing to bury or cremate bodies, giving bereaved families the ashes of strangers, and defrauding nearly 200 families out of more than £500,000.

Tristan Essex, whose grandmother Jessie Stockdale was one of Bush's victims, said his memories of her are now "tainted." Her body was found at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors five months after her funeral, and the family discovered the ashes they had received were not Jessie's.

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You can start your own funeral directors from your shed. No regulations, no laws, no qualifications. The government's had forever to do it and we're still waiting.

Essex and his sister Claire have been campaigning for regulation for nearly two years, taking their fight to Downing Street. They highlight the lack of oversight in the industry, with anyone able to set up a funeral directors business without formal training or mandatory checks. "You can start your own funeral directors from your shed," Tristan said. "No regulations, no laws, no qualifications."

In response to the case, the Department for Health and Social Care announced it will develop proposals for formal regulation of the funeral sector, with families to be consulted. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper stated the government will bring forward comprehensive proposals to ensure "respect and dignity for the deceased in every setting, including proper regulation of the funeral sector."

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In the wake of this horrific case, we will now bring forward comprehensive proposals to ensure respect and dignity for the deceased in every setting, including proper regulation of the funeral sector.