Freddie van Mierlo MP Backs Better Support For Families Bereaved By Suicide With 10 Downing Street Petition

Freddie van Mierlo, MP for Henley and Thame, today backed better support for families bereaved by suicide as the Official Petition for Jason’s Law was delivered to 10 Downing Street.

The petition, lodged by Oxfordshire constituent Mimi Conder, calls for legislation requiring all police forces in the United Kingdom to assign a trained Family Liaison Officer to every family bereaved by suicide. The proposal seeks fair and consistent use of existing officers so that families affected by suicide receive the same level of support as other bereaved families.

Mimi’s husband Jason sadly died in September 2024, leaving behind his wife and three children. In the immediate aftermath, the family were left to navigate police procedures, coroner processes and complex legal terminology without a single dedicated point of contact. Although a referral for aftercare support was discussed, it did not take place.

Currently, families bereaved by homicide or fatal road traffic collisions are automatically assigned a trained Family Liaison Officer to provide clear communication and practical guidance throughout investigations and inquests. There is no such automatic provision for families bereaved by suicide, creating what campaigners describe as a clear inequality in how bereaved families are treated.

The need for reform has been recognised for several years. The House of Commons Health Committee identified this gap in support in 2017. The petition has been delivered as the College of Policing reviews how police forces respond to suicide, with campaigners urging that support for families is central to that process.

The petition was handed in by Jason’s mother, Jayne Hepburn, alongside Freddie van Mierlo MP and Liz Twist MP. Liz Twist chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention.

Freddie van Mierlo MP said:

“I have worked closely with Mimi and her family on this campaign, and what stands out most is how much harder their loss was made by the absence of a clear point of contact. Families are grieving, supporting children, and trying to understand what has happened. Nothing can ever make such a loss easier or take their pain away, but at the very least they should have to fight for information at a time of grief”.

“Families bereaved by homicide or road death are automatically assigned a trained Family Liaison Officer. Families bereaved by suicide are not. That inequality in support cannot continue. Jason’s Law proposes that families are treated with fairness, dignity, and proper support from the very beginning. I urge the Government to take this opportunity to act.”