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The MP for Tunbridge Wells – the town in which David Fuller yesterday admitted he had murdered two young women back in 1987 – has asked the government for a public inquiry into the case.
During Fuller's trial it emerged that from 2008 to 2020, he had sex on multiple occasions with female corpses in the mortuary at the Kent and Sussex Hospital in Tunbridge Wells and later at the new Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury.
The jury at Maidstone Crown Court heard he had worked as an electrician at the hospitals.
Speaking after Fuller changed his plea to guilty to the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce, MP Greg Clark said: "These unspeakable crimes have robbed us of the lives of two young women and devastated the lives of so many others.
"I want to say that our community, and I’m sure the country, stands beside the families of the victims in their grief and their outrage.
"These are some of the most vile, most depraved acts that have ever been heard in a British court and that requires a response that matches their gravity."
"The families of Fuller’s victims deserve to know two things: How this could have happened; and that it can never, ever happen again."
Mr Clark has written to both the Health Secretary and the Home Secretary to ask them to arrange an immediate public inquiry, even though the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, responsible for running the hospitals, has already announced it will carry out its own inquiry.
He said: "It is beyond the powers and resources of a local hospital to conduct such an inquiry. The questions that must be faced are national, not just local.
"Nothing can undo the horror and heartbreak that the families of the victims are going though.
"But as Fuller goes to prison for what I hope will be the rest of his life, we must make certain that no other family ever has to endure what the families of his victims are experiencing."
He was joined by Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, who said: "We are determined to ensure that no other family ever has to endure what many of our constituents are going through right now."
MPs Helen Grant (Maidstone and The Weald), Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling) and Laura Trott (Sevenoaks) who also have constituents served by the hospital trust have added their names to the call for an inquiry.
It emerged at the trial that Fuller had committed sex attacks on the bodies of at least 78 victims in hospital mortuaries over more than a decade.
Mr Clark said: "The question locally is how was this was allowed to happen? But also we must ask is our national policy stringent enough? Could this have happened in other hospitals across the country?"
Matthew Scott, the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner, said: "It's an absolutely harrowing case. This man abused his position working in a hospital to commit absolutely depraved acts.
"We know about the crimes he committed during a fixed time period when he was filming himself. We don't know if there were other offences before when he wasn't filming.
"I support Greg Clark and the other MPs in calling for a public inquiry.
"I believe this case has ramifications beyond one local health trust. It's important to have an independent inquiry that could provide directions for the whole country going forward."
Speaking yesterday, Miles Scott, the chief executive of the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, said: "I want to say on behalf of the trust, how shocked and appalled we are by the criminal activity of David Fuller in our hospital mortuary that has been revealed in court this week.
"I want to apologise to the families of those who’ve been the victims of these terrible crimes.
"We’ve been working with a team of specialist Police Family Liaison Officers to offer these families whatever help or assistance they may need.
"I am confident that our mortuary today is safe and secure. But I am determined to see if there are any lessons to be learned or systems to be improved.
"Sir Jonathan Michael – a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians – has been commissioned to independently chair an investigation into how this could have happened and to identify anything we could or should have done to avoid it.
"Sir Jonathan has already begun work."
He added: "Meanwhile I will ensure that staff at our hospitals are supported as they also process this shocking news. Our mortuary team have been particularly distressed to learn about what has been revealed over the course of this trial."
Anyone with information about further potential victims of David Fuller is asked to contact the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate on 0800 0515270, alternatively click here.
