Mark Branagan

Funeral director Robert Bush was sentenced to 20 years for 67 offences committed over 12 years, including storing bodies in appalling conditions, giving families the wrong ashes, selling dubious funeral plans and stealing charity donations. The report describes how Bush maintained a compassionate public persona while using money from bereaved customers to support an expensive lifestyle involving superbikes and other assets. Victims described profound betrayal after learning that their relatives’ remains had been neglected or misidentified. Bush’s defence accepted the seriousness of the harm, apologised for the deception and said his offending had devastated both victims and his own family.