Islwyn MP Chris Evans and the sister of missing Manic Street Preacher Richey Edwards have backed calls for a change in the law for more rights for families of missing people.
Mr Evans, a long-standing campaigner on the issue, has welcomed a report by the Commons Justice Select Committee which calls for new laws based on Scotland’s 1977 Presumption of Death Act.
It recommended the introduction of a law which would allow a certificate of presumed death to be issued to families of missing people.
Rachel Elias, the sister of Blackwood rock star Richey Edwards, of the Manic Street Preachers, has also welcomed the report.
After co-chairing the UK’s first parliamentary inquiry into missing people in May last year, and meeting with the charity Missing People, Mr Evans has been campaigning for a Presumption of Death Act.
He wrote to the Justice Select Committee Chairman Sir Alan Beith, urging the Committee to look into the issues surrounding a Presumption of Death Act.
He said: “Without a death certificate, relatives of missing people are unable to administer their estate, claim life insurance or mortgage their house. This bureaucratic nightmare can add enormously to the emotional distress of losing a family member.
“I urged the Justice Committee to investigate the issues surrounding missing people last year and I hope now the Government will look at introducing a Presumption of Death Act.”
Edwards’ family finally registered the guitarist presumed dead in October 2008, 13 years after he disappeared on February 1, 1995. They started the court process in 2005.
His sister told BBC Radio Wales it was a difficult decision for the family to go to court to have her brother declared “presumed dead.”
She said: “It’s very upsetting because the court will state that that person is deceased, whilst in your heart you hope that they aren’t.
“You still hope and pray they will come back.
“For many other families that I’ve met who have had to deal with issues such as dissolving their marriage or sorting out joint assets the problem becomes even more problematic.”
She added: “As well as the emotional impact of dealing with a missing person there is the practical financial aspect of that person’s life – bills to pay and mortgages.
“You are already in a traumatic situation because they’ve gone, you don’t know where they are, but you are also left with this legal minefield and this act will hopefully address that.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We are already working to improve guidance relating to Coroners’ powers where a person is missing and presumed dead and will look at other areas where guidance could be improved.
“We will carefully consider all the recommendations from the Justice Select Committee and will respond shortly.”