The Government has announced that non-invasive post-mortems will be available to those who object to conventional post-mortems on religious grounds.

The announcement is part of an overhaul of the Coroners and Justice Bill and has arisen after the success of a pilot scheme in Salford and Bolton, where individuals could opt for an MRI post-mortem to determine cause of death. Coroner Jennifer Leeming, in charge of overseeing the project, concluded that the results with MRI have been 'more than 99%' accurate.

The Bill does, however, give coroners the right to switch to the conventional method should there be difficulty determining the cause of death.

The scheme is open to members of all faiths, but at £500 per scan, patient's families are currently asked to foot the bill. Nationwide funding has not yet been decided upon.

Muslims and Jews object to invasive post-mortem procedures, as it conflicts with beliefs on sanctity of the body and teachings that the body should be buried as quickly as possible after death. The former general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, said: 'This announcement will certainly be welcomed in the Muslim community. It has always been an issue of some concern.' (timesonline.co.uk 2009; 21 April, telegraph.co.uk 2009; 21 April)Tracy de Castro, Sophie Hooper, David Randall, Helen Reay, Rachel Taylor, Stella Woodfield