The Bishop of Lincoln has opposed Government plans to scrap the office of Chief Coroner.
Bishop John Saxbee spoke out against the move and voted against it alongside the Bishops of Bristol, Chichester, Exeter and Manchester as the Government was defeated in the House of Lords.
Peers voted by 277 to 165 to remove the Chief Coroner and his assistants from the list of offices and quangos the Government plans to scrap. The post of chief coroner was set up by the last Government but not yet come into existence.