British Airways has put an embargo on carrying all cargo to London from Bermuda as part of a security review.

The ban — in place until further notice — means any air cargo heading for the UK, Europe or beyond must now be sent via the US or Canada.

A BA spokeswoman told The Royal Gazette: "British Airways can confirm that there is presently an embargo on cargo leaving Bermuda on their flights.

"This embargo has been in effect since early November. It is the result of a review of security procedures as it affects British Airways world cargo."

She said BA staged reviews at all its "stations" to ensure security procedures were being followed and it was Bermuda's turn for such a review.

"It's specific to only Bermuda," she said of the embargo. "However, from time to time other stations undergo such an embargo during security reviews."

L.F. Wade International Airport manager Aaron Adderley said any cargo which would have gone on BA was being taken by other carriers. "That's not causing too much trouble," he said. "It's worked out fine."

He added: "The airline has advised me that their decision regarding the cargo embargo was a security-related one."

Meanwhile, official inquiries surrounding a man whose body parts went missing after his death has revealed that cargo handlers under contract to BA were allegedly not opening and searching caskets containing human remains before they were put on flights to the UK.

A source has told The Royal Gazette that an investigation into how the body of Norman Palmer was handled after he died in Bermuda in April raised serious concerns about a failure to check caskets by Aircraft Services Bermuda (ASB) cargo handlers.

Mr. Palmer, 57, was found to have half his body parts missing by a pathologist after his corpse arrived in England for a second post mortem ordered by a British coroner.

The source said it was highly likely that the container bearing Mr. Palmer's corpse went unchecked — making it impossible to know if his body parts were there before his body was flown to London Gatwick Airport and collected by an undertaker.

The source said BA had a strict open-and-search policy for human remains containers and was deeply concerned that it was allegedly not being adhered to by ASB handlers, which also deals with cargo for other airlines.

"The local handlers are too squeamish to open them up but are ticking the box to say they have," said the source. "BA has a policy that says all human remains caskets will be opened and searched. This is at odds with ASB policy that says its discretionary."

Marion Bishop, Mr. Palmer's sister, said yesterday she was stunned to learn that the casket carrying her brother may not have been thoroughly checked. "If they'd have opened the casket, we might have known right then and there if the parts were there," she said.

Mr. Palmer's family allege he died due to the length of time it took an ambulance to reach his home in Paget on April 12 after he complained of a throat obstruction and the lack of life-saving equipment in the emergency room at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. An inquest into his death will open in Bermuda on January 15.

Ms Bishop said the casket potentially not being checked at the airport could be the latest in a string of failures surrounding her brother's death and the handling of his body.

"Here we go again," she said. "We are not held accountable so we don't do our jobs as we should do. This is what I have said all along from the ambulance on."

Gene Bean, from ASB, in response to questions about handlers allegedly failing to open and check caskets, said: "Our contract is with British Airways. You may contact them."

The BA spokeswoman provided the following answers to questions from this newspaper:

• Is ASB still handling cargo coming into Bermuda for BA? — "Yes, but imports only at the present time, no exports."

• Is BA satisfied with the way ASB has been checking cargo leaving Bermuda? — "No cargo is departing from Bermuda at present."

• Is BA aware that official inquiries into the handling of Norman Palmer's body have revealed that ASB was allegedly not opening and searching human remains caskets? — "BA does not discuss actual security procedures in the interests of safety and security."

• What is BA's policy on opening and searching human remains containers — is it mandatory? — "We will not discuss security procedures."

• Can BA comment on whether the casket containing Mr. Palmer's body was opened and searched before it was put on the flight to Gatwick? — "We will not comment at the present time as there is an ongoing investigation."

• Is ASB's contract under review? — "It would not be appropriate to discuss contract details in public."

Mr. Adderley said of the day Mr. Palmer's body was flown to the UK: "I'm not directly aware of what happened or what allegedly happened with ASB handling cargo on that particular day."