Bush penned an open letter to those affected by his crimes
Robert Bush(Image: Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA Wire)
Disgraced funeral director Robert Bush has penned an apology letter to the families affected by his crimes. Bush released the letter, sent to families following his sentencing hearing, where he was handed a 20-year prison term for 67 charges. These included fraudulent trading, denying 30 people a decent and proper burial, and giving some bereaved relatives the ashes of strangers.
The letter says that while “there are no words that can undo what has happened or take away the pain”, Bush “simply wanted you to know that I genuinely regret the consequences of my actions”. He acknowledged his actions “caused distress, upset and uncertainty for many families. I am deeply sorry.”
But families have not welcomed the apology, and are questioning its sincerity and wondering whether Bush is using it as a false show of contrition. John Banyard’s friend John Carlill was one of the 30 bodies found in Bush’s Hessle Road funeral home. John had received ashes he believed to belong to his friend, before being told Mr Carlill’s body was still in the Legacy warehouse. Mr Banyard has called the letter “callous and cold” and “deeply grotesque and offensive”.
He said: “At the time I just quickly glanced through it, and didn’t take a lot of notice of it. The police sent me a copy of the letter and I just continually kept reading it. The more I read it, the more it bothered me. I just think the words are empty. They are meaningless, it comes from an evil man who is callous, cold and collected.
“I also think he is trying to control the narrative. He wanted to look like a broken man full of remorse. In fact he was a callous criminal trying to exploit families. I don’t think he’s done himself any justice. He states that he wishes he had sorted his problems out sooner. He was never going to sort out any problems, the problem was with him and his greed. He just wanted to deceive people and he never had any intention of cremating people.
“He says he wishes he got to grips with things earlier on but that’s a blatant lie. He was never going to do anything about it, he was motivated by greed. It’s just a narrative, it’s an attempt to make him look like a broken man. But he’s an evil criminal man. I found it deeply grotesque and offensive.”
Mr Banyard says he “glanced through” the letter when it was displayed at the end of the court proceedings, but was more preoccupied with the length of the sentence, which he said made him feel “elated”. “It was two and a half years of misery, like a rollercoaster ride of raw emotion,” he said. “I just felt relieved.” But now almost a week has passed, it has begun to sink in just how empty Bush’s words feel.
And Mr Banyard is not the only family member to react negatively to the letter. Katie Woolston, who was given ashes that Bush claimed belonged to her baby, only to discover her child was never cremated, said the process has “opened up wounds” rather than provided closure.
She said: “I don’t believe it’s a sincere apology. The whole of last week he didn’t show an ounce of remorse, he couldn’t look up when anybody was reading their statements out. And he has left everybody with unanswered questions. It hasn’t been closure for me, it opened the wounds to when I first lost my babies back up. I’ll never forgive him, nor do I think anybody affected will ever get over what he’s done.” Another affected family member said simply: “I have chosen not to read it.”
The letter is titled “an open letter to the families affected”. It reads:
“To everyone who has been affected by my actions,
“I have spent a great deal of time thinking about the events that wish to say something directly to you. I know many of you entrusted me and my business with the care of someone you loved during one of the most difficult times in your lives. I recognise that what happened has caused distress, upset and uncertainty for many families. I am deeply sorry.
“There are no words that can undo what has happened or take away the pain that many of you have experienced. I understand that this has affected not only your confidence in me, but also memories surrounding the loss of those closest to you. I accept responsibility for my failures. Looking back, I know that I should have acted differently and much sooner. I regret that I did not do so.
“I do not expect forgiveness, nor do I write this letter in the hope of reducing the seriousness of what has happened. I simply wanted you to know that I genuinely regret the consequences of my actions and the impact they have had on so many people. I appreciate that every family’s experience has been different, and I respect that some people may never wish to accept my apology. That is entirely understandable.
“I hope that, in time, each of you can find some peace and remember your loved ones for who they were rather than for the circumstances that have followed. I am truly sorry.”
Did you know you can make Hull Live a preferred source of Hull news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here .