Proposals for a law which would deny parole to killers who refuse to disclose the location of bodies have been included in the Queen’s Speech.<\/p>\n
The Prisoners (disclosure of information about victims) Bill, known as Helen’s Law, recently ran out of time when the election was called.<\/p>\n
However, it has been resurrected in\u00a0the new Conservative government’s agenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n The bill is named after Helen McCourt, whose murderer Ian Simms has never revealed where her remains are.<\/p>\n Simms, 63, was jailed for life in 1989 after killing Helen McCourt as she walked home from work in Billinge.<\/p>\n He was told he would have to serve at least 16 years before he could be considered for parole.<\/p>\n Helen’s mother, Marie, has campaigned for him not to be released until he says where her body was left.<\/p>\n Earlier in December,\u00a0she spoke of her relief<\/a>\u00a0that the Parole Board’s decision to sanction his release was to be reviewed.<\/p>\n She had previously said she feared the law would come too late for her, as Simms was likely to be freed before it was passed.<\/p>\n Analysis by Claire Hamilton, Merseyside political reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n The inclusion of Helen’s Law in the Queen’s Speech will be a bitter-sweet victory for Marie McCourt, who has fought a tireless campaign to see it introduced.<\/p>\n She was deeply disappointed that it was dropped at the last Parliament, ahead of the snap general election.<\/p>\n A change in personnel at the top level of government has also been frustrating. David Cameron was prime minister when the campaign to introduce the legislation began.<\/p>\n Justice Secretary David Gauke later backed Helen’s Law, but he then quit the cabinet over Brexit.<\/p>\n More than 500,000 people signed the petition Marie McCourt started to introduce Helen’s law in 2015.<\/p>\n In 2016, St Helens North MP Conor McGinn introduced the Unlawful Killing (Recovery of Remains) Bill 2016-17 under the Ten Minute Rule.<\/p>\n It did not go anywhere then, but his wish that it eventually be drafted into law by the government appears to have finally come true.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"