ConorхЪ has written to Theresa May to express the unhappiness of victims’ families with the Government’s failure to bring in a new “no body, no parole” law for convicted murderers.
ConorsхЪproposed new law would prevent the release from jail of killers who refuse to reveal the whereabouts of their victims’ bodies.
He is fighting for Helen’s Law to get justice for his constituent Marie McCourt whose daughter Helen was murdered in 1988.хЪ Despite her killer’s conviction, Helen’s body has never been found.
Conor hasхЪstepped up the campaign ahead of the first anniversary today (Wednesday October 11) of his parliamentary battle to change the law with his Unlawful Killing (Recovery of Remains) Bill.
In his letter to the PM,хЪConor said: “I must report the immense sense of frustration and continued sense of injustice that victims are feeling at the lack of progress.”
He urged the Prime Minister to work with him to get Helen’s Law on to the statute book as swiftly as possible to ease the torment endured by Marie McCourt and many other families.
Helen McCourt was killed at the age of 22 by Ian Simms, the landlord of a pub where she had worked as a barmaid. She disappeared close to her home in Billinge in Mr McGinn’s constituency of St Helens North on February 9 1988.
Simms, then aged 31, was found guilty of murder in a landmark conviction based on overwhelming DNA evidence ‰лв even though Helen’s body was never found.
Since Helen’s death, Simms has continued to torment Marie McCourt by refusing to explain what happened to Helen’s body.
His callous silence has denied Marie and her relatives the chance to grieve properly and give Helen a proper funeral.
Marie has described that unimaginable distress and the prospect that she could die before discovering the whereabouts of her daughter as “a special kind of torture”.
More than 400,000 people have signed a petition backing Helen’s Law which would help grieving families give their loved ones a proper funeral.
The new law would help people like Marie and others suffering similar ordeals, likethe parents of murdered schoolgirl Danielle Jones, who vanished from a bus stop in 2001, and relatives of Carole Packman who was killed in 1985.
 
According to Home Office figures, there have been at least 30 murders since 2007 in England and Wales where no body has been recovered.
“Throughout her ordeal, Marie has shown dignity and courage while continuing to fight for justice.
хЪ“Yet, despite his cruel silence, her daughter’s killer could soon be released from jail. That would be a terrible injustice.
хЪ“Helen’s Law would mean that if a killer refused to give information about the location of a victim’s body, they would not be considered eligible for parole and would remain behind bars.
хЪ“Despite the huge support of more than 400,000 people, the Government is in danger of being seen to be dragging its feet and risks betraying victims’ families and those like Marie who are being denied the justice they deserve.”