Australia testimony over body blunder

South Yorkshire Police launched a criminal inquiry last November after the body of former paratrooper Christopher Alder, 37, who died in police custody in Hull in 1998, was discovered in a hospital mortuary, 11 years after his family thought they had buried him.

The blunder was revealed when the family of a Nigerian woman, Grace Kamara, 77, arrived at the mortuary at Hull Royal Infirmary to prepare her body for burial on November 4 last year and were told it could not be found.

It is thought Mr Alder’s corpse was found inside a body bag bearing Mrs Kamara’s name.

Mr Alder’s grave in Hull’s Northern Cemetery was exhumed in February and tests confirmed that Mrs Kamara, who died of natural causes at her home in Hull in 1999, had been buried in his place.

It is understood the man being questioned in Australia is a former member of staff at a Hull mortuary who has since emigrated.

Some other witnesses have been interviewed under caution on suspicion of misconduct in a public office.

Arrangements are now being made for two officers to fly to Australia after South Yorkshire Police successfully concluded months of negotiations with Australian federal police and the Australian High Commission.

Det Supt, Richard Fewkes, who is leading the inquiry, said: “We welcome the fact that we have now resolved what have been some complex issues in arranging this particular line of inquiry in Australia and now it is my desire that the officers undertaking that do so as soon as possible, hopefully by the end of the year.”

It is thought the Australian interview is one of the few outstanding lines of inquiry in the case, and may allow the investigation to be concluded early next year.

Mr Alder’s sister Janet, 50, said: “Let’s just hope for them to be travelling so far this is for a good, positive reason in finding out whether anybody is going to be held accountable for the prevention of Christopher’s body being released, and the prevention of Grace Kamara’s body being given to her family at the appropriate time.

“Let’s hope the focus starts from when Christopher’s body was asked for release for burial in 2000, and when exactly did they know, and who knew, that it wasn’t Grace but Christopher.”

Earlier this month, Miss Alder launched the first stage of legal proceedings that could see her sue two of the organisations involved.

Pending the outcome of the criminal inquiry, the human rights campaign group Liberty lodged a protective claim with Central London County Court on Miss Alder’s behalf.

The claim, which may be based on potential breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights, allows her to pursue possible civil proceedings against Hull Council, which ran the city mortuary when the wrong body was released in November 2000, and Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which took charge before Mrs Kamara’s abortive funeral last year.

Both bodies were subsequently reburied in the city; Mrs Kamara’s in the same plot she had occupied for 11 years.