A senior coroner has withdrawn her demand that GPs should verify deaths in person during the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK's biggest doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), had threatened legal action over the direction from Essex Coroner's Service.

It said it was "contrary to English law", risked exposing staff to Covid-19 and would take them away from direct patient care "at a time when they are most needed".

The demand was made in an email from senior coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray sent on April 29, but the position was changed after the Department of Health and Social Care published guidance on May 5.

This said that deaths outside of a hospital setting may be verified by non-medical professionals "using remote clinical support".

"This helps avoid long delays in waiting for verification before the deceased person can be moved when medical practitioners are unavailable, which can be distressing for their families and those close to them,"

the guidance said.

An Essex County Council spokesman said: "The guidance which the senior coroner issued on April 29 has been superseded by her letter dated May 7 which was sent out jointly with the East Anglian senior coroners.

"This latest letter has full regard for and accepts the Department of Health guidance published on May 5."

The BMA had said it was considering legal action in the form of a judicial review before the demand was withdrawn.

BMA GP committee deputy chairman Dr Mark Sanford-Wood said: "The process of verifying a death must be swift, pragmatic and have the emotional wellbeing of those close to the deceased at its heart.

"This is all the more important during the current health crisis, which has already proved devastating for so many."