QC will probe body parts removal

Michael Redfern, who led the Alder Hey Children's Hospital inquiry in Liverpool, has been asked to establish the facts and report to ministers.

Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling, who announced the move in an emergency statement to the Commons, said families of workers at the Sellafield site in Cumbria, as well as the public, wanted answers to questions raised by the latest disclosure.

Mr Darling said most of the workers covered by the revelation worked at Sellafield, but he added that one individual worked at the Capenhurst nuclear site in Cheshire after transferring from Sellafield. There was also data at Sellafield relating to an employee at the Springfields nuclear site in Lancashire and six at Aldermaston.

BNFL, which operates the Sellafield site, identified 65 cases in which tissue was taken from individuals which was then analysed for the radionuclide content of organs, said the minister.

"It's important to tell the House the limited nature of the records that are held by BNFL. These are medical records which show what analysis was done on organs removed following post mortem examination.

"Because they are medical records which dealt with the analysis carried out at Sellafield, they do not provide an audit trail which would show in every case who asked for such an examination under what authority and for what purpose. Nor do they disclose whether or not the appropriate consent from next of kin was received.

"Some records have more information than others but at this stage it is simply not clear what procedures were followed in every case.

"From the information I have, I can tell the House that 23 such requests for further examination and analysis were made following a coroner's inquest.

"A further 33 requests appear to follow a coroner's post mortem. Three requests were made associated with legal proceedings and there was one request made by an individual prior to death," said Mr Darling.