Local MP pledges support for ‘missing’ families

Cheadle MP Mark Hunter joined families of missing people on Tuesday 23 October to pledge their support for the charity Missing People's Missing Rights campaign which is seeking legislative support for families fighting the bureaucracy and heartache of resolving or managing a missing loved one's affairs.

Meeting with Peter Lawrence, father of missing Claudia, and Claire Chandler, whose partner went missing in February 2011, Mr Hunter signed a postcard to formally show their support for the campaign. On the same day MPs also attended a roundtable discussion in the House of Commons which looked at John Glen MP's Private Members' Bill on Presumption of Death which is due for second reading on 2 November.

The charity Missing People has campaigned for a number of years to secure support for families and ensure that anyone affected by the 'missing' issue is spared any unnecessary anguish caused by financial and legal bureaucracy. In addition, the charity is campaigning for families to be routinely provided with emotional support and should know that everything possible is being done to find their missing loved one.

The charity Missing People's Director of Policy and Advocacy Nicola Sharp said: "We are deeply heartened by the cross-party support that is being expressed by MPs and Peers in their support of the Missing Rights campaign which seeks to ease the heartache experienced by the families of missing people.

"We hope that the roundtable discussions on Presumption of Death focus Parliamentary attention on this issue as we near the second reading of the Presumption of Death Bill in early November. Legislation on this issue already exists in Scotland and Northern Ireland and it is crucial that the same rights are extended to families in England and Wales.