Senior ministers are resisting calls for an immediate independent inquiry into how a hospital worker was able to attack at least 100 female corpses in mortuaries, as Kent police said they had been inundated with over 200 calls from those fearing their loved ones may have been attacked after their death. Details of David Fuller’s unprecedented scale of offending emerged on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to murdering two women in 1987 in Kent. He had also used his job as a hospital electrician to enter the mortuary of a Tunbridge Wells hospital, where over 12 years he raped and sexually abused about 100 corpses ranging from children to the elderly. The Guardian understands victims’ families have begun discussions with lawyers about suing over the attacks on their loved ones. The Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust has commissioned an independent investigation. But local MPs, Kent’s police commissioner and the family of one victim have backed calls for an independent inquiry. Greg Clark, the Conservative MP for Tunbridge Wells, said the issues were so huge that they went beyond a single NHS trust, and a public inquiry was vital. He said: “Justice for the victims’ families requires that every lesson that can be drawn from what they went though is taken. There are national as well as local issues.” Clark and other Kent MPs have also written to the health secretary, Sajid Javid, and the home secretary, Priti Patel, to call for an immediate inquiry. The prime minister’s spokesperson on Friday refused to commit to a full inquiry and said they would wait for the NHS trust inquiry to conclude, which is expected to take several months. “We’re not ruling it out, but we need to let the investigations that are already under way take place. It’s critical that we investigate this case thoroughly to see what lessons can be learned,” they said. Kent police said: “As of this afternoon, the contact centre had received around 200 calls from members of the public concerned their loved one may have been a victim of David Fuller.” Detectives said all the victims may not have been identified and appealed for any information about Fuller’s offending. The contact number is 0800 051 5270. The only family member of a victim to speak out so far also demanded a full inquiry. Nevres Kemal, whose daughter Azra, 24, died in July 2020, told Sky News of her family’s ordeal. Azra Kemal was placed in the mortuary in Tunbridge Wells after she fell from a bridge and suffered fatal injuries. She was raped repeatedly by Fuller, who accessed the mortuary thousands of times using his hospital pass and filmed many of his attacks. Kemal said her daughter was attacked just before and after she visited to say goodbye: “I had spent two hours in the mortuary sleeping with her. And that gave me some sort of comfort. Little did I know that my daughter had been violated prior to that day and the evening of that day. “So, whilst I’m stroking my daughter’s hair, sleeping on her hair, a man had … crawled all over her skin … And there’s me kissing and cuddling and saying my last goodbyes.” Fuller researched many of his victims, including Azra, after the attacks. There was no CCTV in the part of the mortuary the attacks took place. Kemal added: “No one checked. It was so simple. He would actually abuse women while porters were bringing in bodies.” Fuller’s victims were aged nine to 100 years old. Nevres Kemal, a social worker who helped blow the whistle on Haringey council over the Baby P scandal in 2007, said the chief executive of the NHS trust, Miles Scott, should resign. She confronted Scott and said: “His response was it’s up to the board and he had the backing of the board, and I told him, ‘the victim’s families are the board – I am the board’. I believe he needs to resign. “He should ask the victims ‘do you think I’m the best person to be managing this hospital trust’? If you are truly sorry, you would step aside.” The Centre for Women’s Justice, which has helped Kemal, said: “It is clear that women and girls are never safe from male violence, even in death. A proper inquiry must now take place to explore how Fuller was able to continue perpetrating these appalling acts over such a long period of time. “Necrophilia, or penetration of a corpse, first became an offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The maximum sentence for this crime is just two years. It is now time for a more open dialogue, however shocking, about this offence and how it can be prevented. The shame resides in Fuller and the chief executive of the NHS trust who failed to prevent his actions.” Fuller murdered Wendy Knell, 25, and Caroline Pierce, 20, in separate attacks in Tunbridge Wells in 1987. New analysis of decades-old DNA evidence led police to search his home last year, where they found images of dead women being abused by Fuller, a court heard this week. Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said: “It is important that the secretary of state listens to the concerns of the local MP and the families of those who have been involved, and establishes a full, swift public inquiry, so that lessons can be learned from this appalling incident and ensure this is never repeated.” Matthew Scott, the police and crime commissioner for Kent, backed a full inquiry and said an extra £1m had been given by government to support families. Scott said he was shocked and appalled by Fuller’s crimes and apologised to the families, adding: “I am confident that our mortuary today is safe and secure. But I am determined to see if there are any lessons to be learned or systems to be improved.”