A BLANDFORD mum whose baby son was killed by his father says she is both livid and disappointed there was no mention this week of the promised Coroner's Bill in the Queen's Speech.

Cathy Franklin had been told Ryan's Law' would be included in the speech after she spearheaded a major campaign for a change in legislation.

Cathy endured 18 months of emotional torture before being allowed to bury Ryan, while waiting for his father Lee Khair to go on trial.

Khair, a former lance corporal with the Royal Signals, was convicted of manslaughter at Winchester Crown Court and jailed for seven years.

But the body of two-year-old Ryan was not released for burial until the completion of the trial in November 2003.

Under the then legislation, the coroner was powerless to release Ryan's body for burial because Khair's defence lawyers had claimed they needed it for evidence.

So the Franklin family started a campaign collecting more than 1,000 signatures and the case was taken up by North Dorset MP Bob Walter, who presented the petition to the House of Commons.

Harriet Harman MP, Minister of State for Constitutional Affairs, then promised a section of the new draft of the Coroner's Bill would be named after Ryan to limit the length of time a coroner could retain human remains - and would be included in the Queen's Speech.

"I'm fuming and very disappointed," said Cathy. "The government has dipped out of their promises again.

"All I want is a face to face meeting with Gordon Brown or Jack Straw and they would wish they had never met me."

Mr Walter MP said: "Yet again the government has ducked the issue. I want families like the Franklins to be able to lay the deceased to rest sooner, and avoid the unnecessary wait and sadness the current system has caused."

Cathy currently has an online petition of nearly 700 names calling for a change in criminal justice legislation, which releases prisoners halfway through their sentences.

Khair was released this year after serving three years and six months.