‘They took the wrong black body’... Police called in over Hull morgue blunder

Humberside Police’s Chief Constable Tim Hollis said he was “mindful of the strong association of Humberside Police with Christopher Alder’s name and his sad death” and had invited South Yorkshire Police to investigate.

A report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission found the conduct of four officers at the time of his death amounted to “unwitting racism”.

It appears the body of a 77-year-old Nigerian woman may have been buried in his place in 2000.

Hull Council declined to say precisely how long it had known that Grace Kamara, who was due to be buried last Friday, was no longer in the city’s mortuary.

Friends spoke of their increasing frustration on the day of her burial. Security had to be called at Hull Royal Infirmary where mourners gathered after the funeral was delayed two hours before being postponed indefinitely.

Ivan Litchfield, a close friend of Mr Alder, said the Alder family never had justice. “I think personally what’s happened is that they have seen one black body and they took the wrong body. I think there has been a mistake and people don’t want to confess to it.”

Mr Hollis said police would examine circumstances “surrounding the retention and safe-keeping of the bodies ...and their subsequent release for interment”.