When we asked how many funeral directors in the UK are operating without any oversight, nobody could tell us the answer. Outside of Scotland, where a statutory code of conduct was introduced for funeral directors in March 2025, there is nothing compelling UK funeral directors to abide by any national standards. Former Hull funeral director Robert Bush was a member of neither. Similarly, Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell, who ran Elkin & Bell Funeral Directors in Gosport, Hampshire, are believed to have deceived grieving families for months. We also found that five active funeral directors were falsely stating online that they were members of one or both trade bodies.