A Major campaign to improve the rights of the relatives of those who have died was being launched today following the death of an Oxford woman, writes Zahra Akkerhuys.

Last December, Summertown widow Jane Holtom, 67, died of a heart attack while on the phone to a friend. Unknown to her devoted sons John and Jeremy Holtom, police broke down the door to the flat in Thackley End and Mrs Holtom's body was removed for a post mortem examination.

The first the brothers knew of their mother's death was when John, a lawyer from St Albans, Hertfordshire, arrived to find the flat empty and the door padlocked.

The brothers were left horrified when they discovered what had happened. They could not believe that their mother had been dead for three days without their knowledge. They secured a judicial review and vowed to fight to improve the law so that a similar incident never happens again.

Jeremy, a financial consultant from Brackley, Northamptonshire, was today calling for a national next-of-kin database to be set up.

He wants to see a national record compiled which would note the details of the next-of-kin of each individual. Then, in the event of an emergency, the authorities would know who to contact immediately.

He wants to see the information to be processed either alongside people's national insurance details or attached to any police records.

The procedure as it stands relies on good old-fashioned policework and in the case of a sudden death officers search the house for any trace of the person's next of kin.

Then, through discreet inquiries, the police try to track them down and make sure they break the news as sensitively as possible and face to face.

But the process can take time and often there is a delay.

Jeremy Holtom says: "It is apparent that the system involved when somebody dies needs a complete overhaul. "We feel that our right to grieve for the death of our mother was permanently violated as a result of the insensitivity and incompetence of those involved.

"Under the present system the state thinks it owns your body when you die. We disagree strongly with this attitude and believe that the rights of the dead should be respected and enshrined in law."

The brothers were particularly upset that a post mortem examination, which they believed was unnecessary, was carried out on their mother without their permission.

Mr Jeremy Holtom says: "No-one contacted us despite the fact our phone numbers were on our mother's medical records and her address book was open next to her telephone at the page with all the family's addresses and phone numbers on it."

As part of the campaign, Mr Holtom has written to all the leaders of the major political parties including the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

He wrote: "Due to incompetence by the various authorities involved including the coroner, GP and police, nobody bothered to notify myself and my brother of my mother's death and a post mortem examination was carried out with obscene haste. "To prevent situations such as what happened to my mother occurring again and indeed to make it easier to contact next-of-kin at any time, I am calling now for moves to begin to establish a database of next-of-kin.

"The cost of putting it in place would be minimal, but the distress and suffering that would be avoided by having an easy way in which next-of-kin can be found in the event of a sudden death or illness would be incalculable. A society that loses respect in relation to the treatment of the dead and the dying has lost its soul."

He wants to see the database set up as a lasting tribute to his mother.

He says: "I am doing this for my mother's memory. We sometimes feel as if we cannot change anything but I am hoping to show that with enough commitment and dedication we can make a difference."

Mr Holtom says he has been contacted by several organisations including the Marchioness Action Group, which supports the families of those lost when the party boat sank on the River Thames more than a decade ago.

He says: "It has become apparent that what happened to us following the death of our mother is far from uncommon, but it should never be allowed to happen again."