MP secures Commons debate on the tragedy of suicide

WARRINGTON North MP Helen Jones secured a debate in Parliament on the standard of proof for a suicide verdict in a coroner’s court.
Officials of national charity Papyrus, Prevention of Young Suicide, which is based in Warrington, were present in the House to hear the debate.
They have been campaigning for change for some time.
Ms Jones said: “Any suicide is a tragedy not only for the family and friends of the person who has died but also because we have failed to offer them another way out and failed to support them through their illness.
“ Despite the fact that suicide is no longer a criminal offence the criminal standard of proof is still used in the coroner’s court rather than the civil standard of proof. This ensures that stigma around suicide remains and prevents us from discussing it openly and dealing with it effectively.
“It also means that we may be hugely underestimating the number of suicides we are dealing with, by as much as 30-50 per cent. The first step in dealing with the problem is to know how widespread it is. Unless we know that we will lose the chance to prevent more deaths in the future.”
Papyrus chairman and chief executive, Stephen Habgood and Ged Flynn, who were present at the debate, welcomed the fact that it was taking place.
Mr Habgood said the government had been dilatory in looking at the way in which coroners reach a suicide conclusion and that such a delay was causing harm.
He said: “This is a straight forward case: there is overwhelming support for the use of the civil standard in reaching a suicide conclusion. A recent High Court judgment supports this view. Young people are less likely to feel the need to hide their distress if we are finally able as a country to say that suicide is nothing to do with crime and that we refuse to use the criminal standard in establishing deaths by suicide.
“ It was pleasing to hear the minister acknowledge the part Papyrus has played in leading this campaign. The government should now make its position clear and do so quickly. The law needs to be changed. Suicide stigma is killing our young people and it needs to stop. “
The full Hansard transcript of the debate can be read at:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-09-05/debates/B8A2C436-64BE-4694-B4AA-F6535E49E31E/SuicideCoroners%E2%80%99Courts