Welsh death certificate to be issued in death of ex-BBC editor

While bilingual death certificates are issued in cases where a death has been registered bilingually in Wales, Davies’s death was first registered by the coroner’s office in English, and then bilingually.

Robertson said that while the first inquest had been conducted in Welsh, “the death was registered in English only with an English-only death certificate, as this was provided first”.

“My intention was for Aled’s death to be registered bilingually, and a bilingual death certificate was to follow,” she said.

“This did not happen.”

Davies’s widow, Afryl Glynne Davies, said she had repeatedly asked for a bilingual certificate to reflect the importance of the Welsh language in her late husband’s life but had been refused, leading her to take the matter to the High Court.

“All I’ve had is walls and barriers,” she said.

“[The General Register Office] came back and said they couldn’t give me a bilingual certificate because they would have to re-register the death.

“Then they came back, and this was the most hurtful one, and said they could put the Welsh language in a box at the bottom in tiny letters, which I would hardly be able to read.

“I kept on saying to them, ‘but it’s not my mistake’ – my language is not a mistake.

“They refused and refused and refused, and that’s why we went to the High Court.

“That was the last resort.”

Davies said not having a bilingual certificate for her husband had been “really scary”.

“What I’ve learned from all of this is we have no legal rights to have bilingual certificates in general, for births, deaths and marriages.

“We have no rights, there are guidelines, but there is no legal right for us to have them.”

Robertson said: “The High Court agreed to quash the inquest so that it could be reopened to ensure Mrs Davies receives a bilingual death certificate.”

In the reopened hearing, the coroner restated the circumstances of Davies’s death and thanked the family for their “patience and commitment”.

Cardiff West MP Alex Barros-Curtis raised the matter on behalf of the family in the UK Parliament last year and proposed any birth, death or marriage certificate in Wales should be issued bilingually, in English and Welsh.

He said: “Afryl’s determination has highlighted the injustice faced by Welsh-speaking families who are still denied the choice of receiving death certificates in Welsh or bilingually.

“No family should have to fight for their language to be treated with equal respect.”

Barros-Curtis said he would bring his proposed bill back to Parliament in the new term.

“I am already in talks with ministers on the next steps to reintroduce these reforms,” he said.

“The case for change is as strong as ever, and I remain committed to ensuring families in Wales have the choice to receive certificates in Welsh, English or bilingually.”

Afryl Glynne Davies said: “Aled would have wanted a bilingual certificate for himself, but he would also have wanted everyone else to have that same right.”