‘Utterly unconscionable’: Great-grandson of Harold Shipman victim condemns life insurance firm’s ‘despicable’ advert that uses image of serial killer with tagline ‘because you never know who your doctor might be’

• DeadHappy posted an advert on Facebook with an image of Harold Shipman
• Relative of Shipman victim Charles Henry Barlow hits out at ‘cheap publicity’  

The great-grandson of one of the victims of serial killer Harold Shipman has hit out at a ‘despicable’ advert used by a life insurance firm which featured the prolific murderer. 

DeadHappy has faced backlash over an advert posted on Facebook with an image of Shipman alongside text which said: ‘Life insurance: Because you never know who your doctor might be’. 

In 1999 GP Shipman, then 52, was convicted of the murders of 15 of his patients. But further inquiries found evidence he may have killed more than 250 victims during his medical career in Greater Manchester, 80 per cent of who were elderly women. 

Tim Hill, 29, told MailOnline his great-grandfather Charles Henry Barlow was killed by Shipman and said he finds it ‘utterly unconscionable for DeadHappy to use the image of Shipman for crude jokes and cheap publicity.’

The advert by insurance company DeadHappy which many have criticised as ‘unacceptable’

Charles Henry Barlow, an 88-year-old former police sergeant from Hyde, died at his home on November 22, 1995

Charles Henry Barlow, an 88-year-old former police sergeant from Hyde, died at his home on November 22, 1995, only minutes after a visit from Shipman. The Shipman Inquiry concluded Mr Barlow was unlawfully killed. 

Mr Hill, who lives in Stockport, about six miles from where Mr Barlow was killed, said: ‘Charles was my mother’s grandad. 

‘I was two at the time of his death, however I do remember the distress of my mother and her father Charles jr around the time of the inquiry, after years of uncertainty surrounding his death. 

‘It was more about the time of the inquiry that I was aware of it, I was seven going on eight at the time.

‘I remember a lot of the stress and upset of the family having to go through it.’

Tim Hill says he remembers the stress his family went through during the Shipman Inquiry

Speaking about how he felt when he saw the DeadHappy advert, he said: ‘I was bewildered that anyone would agree to sign it off – everyone who must have sat around at a meeting table.

‘There’s no consideration for the families. I’m not a close relative – but there are thousands of us who are affected by this, it’s not distant memory, it’s still something people will remember.’

The design engineer added: ‘I find it utterly unconscionable for DeadHappy to use the image of Dr Shipman for crude jokes and cheap publicity. 

‘This is not the first time they have skirted the edges of sensibility for the sake of ‘provoking conversation’ as they call it. 

”Dark humour’ can have a place in society, but it should not be the abuse of tolerance for the sake of publicity.

‘They purposefully issue this style of content with the intent of causing a backlash and promoting their business.’

He added: ‘As the majority of Shipman’s victims were elderly, I should imagine there are now thousands of their relatives around my age, in DeadHappy’s target audience, who could have been exposed to this advert.’ 

Tim says he is the great-grandson of Charles Henry Barlow, who was killed by Shipman in 1995

Shipman killed Mr Barlow and reported the death to the Coroner, the Shipman Inquiry’s third report said.

The report explained: ‘The Coroner relied on the pathologist’s view that death was due to bronchopneumonia. If he had had the advantage of a witness statement from Mr Norman Newton, a neighbour and friend of Mr Barlow who saw him daily, he would have learned that Mr Barlow was sitting in his chair drinking a cup of coffee only two hours before his death. 

‘Provided that the Coroner had sufficient medical knowledge, he would then have realised that Mr Barlow’s condition two hours before death was not consistent with a death from bronchopneumonia. He would also have learned that Mr Barlow’s enlarged goitre had not, so far as anyone knew, changed for a long time. 

‘The cause of death suggested by the pathologist would then have seemed an unlikely one. The Coroner would have realised that an inquest was necessary. Further investigations would have been required and might have revealed the truth.’

Many expressed shock after DeadHappy’s advert appeared online, describing it as ‘disgusting’.

DeadHappy’s founder apologised and said sometimes as a brand they may ‘step over the line’.

Kathryn Knowles, founder of insurance broker Cura, told the Telegraph she would report the ‘absolutely disgusting’ advert to the Financial Conduct Authority, as well as the advertising watchdog. 

She said people within the industry were ‘absolutely appalled’. 

‘I just don’t see how anyone in their right mind could have thought this was the right thing to do,’ she said. 

She asked why the company would put relatives of Shipman’s victims, some of who are still alive, through that. 

‘WOW. DeadHappy way to get people talking about your product. Shame it included a mass murdering Doctor,’ one wrote on Facebook. 

Another tweeted: ‘So- @DeadHappy you’re really going with this ad, with the tagline ‘life insurance to die for’? 

Many have hit out at the advert, saying there’s a ‘limit’ to advertising and saying it’s not funny

‘Seriously? I’m all for adverts pushing boundaries, but there’s a line. And you’ve gone way past it. And you know you have.’

One shocked critic wrote: ‘@deadhappy what on EARTH were the marketing team thinking using this as your advert? You should be ashamed of yourself! Those poor families :(.’ 

DeadHappy founder Andy Knott reportedly accepted the advert was ‘provocative’ but said the motivation was to raise awareness of the need for life insurance.

‘It is our intention to make people stop and think. If however you have been personally distressed by this advert we do sincerely apologise,’ he told the Telegraph.

‘We do take risks with our brand and sometimes we may step over the line, whatever or wherever that line may be, and whoever chooses to draw it.’

MailOnline reached out to DeadHappy for further comment about the advert. 

Shipman was found guilty of 15 murders in 2000 for killing patients under his care – but hundreds of victims are said to have died at the hands of the GP in Hyde, Greater Manchester in the 1990s.

The Shipman Inquiry, a two-year-long investigation of all deaths certified by Shipman, identified at least 218 victims and estimated his total victim count could have been around 250, the MEN reports.

As a GP, Shipman presented himself as a pillar of the community – but in reality, he used his position as a doctor to murder hundreds of people over 20 years.

He received 15 life sentences with no parole and was incarcerated at Durham Prison.

Shipman was then moved to Wakefield Prison in June 2003. 

On January 13, 2004, he took his own life in his prison cell. 

The Advertising Standards Authority has also been approached for comment on the advert.  

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