Man whose dad was murdered calls for change in law

A man campaigning for changes to death certificates to help protect children says his dad's murder will "never leave" him.

Bristol writer Mark Lemon's petition calling for kids to be added to death certificates to make them more visible to support services has been debated in parliament for a second time.

MPs voted unanimously to support it, and the petition is now being taken to a cross-departmental working group.

Mr Lemon, who was 12 years old when his dad was stabbed, said: "The only positive I can take from such a tragic event is to know that I am using my experience to champion change."

"There is a big piece of me which is still that young boy whose dad has just been killed and that will never leave me.

"Grief is strange. For many years, I wouldn't talk about what happened, I locked the memories away, but I could never forget my dad's smile.

"Now I'm a father myself - you experience fresh waves of grief as you watch your children grow," Mr Lemon added.

He later released a book, called The Magical Wood, in a bid to help support grieving children.

Mr Lemon said he was "delighted" the government discussed his petition.

"Whatever the circumstance, whoever their special person was, bereaved young people need to have this support easily available to them.

"These young people are largely invisible because we simply don't have the data to know how many bereaved kids there are or where they are," he added.

Fergus Crow, CEO of Winston's Wish which is the UK's childhood bereavement charity, said he was "very happy" to see the petition come back for a "lively and meaningful" debate.

"[It] shows that the issues faced by grieving children and young people transcend party politics," he said.

"As a charity directly supporting and listening to the voices of bereaved young people, we want to ensure that their needs stay on the agenda so no child has to face their grief alone. "

Mr Lemon's petition was first brought before the government when it reached more than 10,000 signatures in November 2023.

At the time, the Department for Education said: "Losing a loved one is an awful experience, particularly for children.

"It is not appropriate for a death registration to include the name of any dependent child, but support is available for children."

It was then brought before ministers in Westminster Hall, for debate on Monday, by Stevenage Labour MP Kevin Bonavia.

"Mark is working hard to make sure no child faces the isolation he did after such devastation," Mr Bonavia said.

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