CAMPAIGNERS are to go to court in their fight to have Richard III’s remains reburied in York.

Fifteen of his family’s relatives, calling themselves The Plantagenet Alliance, are to launch a judicial review against the decisions leading to his remains being exhumed and potentially reinterred in Leicester, it was announced yesterday.

They claim the Ministry of Justice’s failure to consult them breached their human rights.

Vanessa Roe, of Tollerton, near Easingwold, a 16th great-niece of Richard, said: “Richard’s remains should be brought back to York. Just because you die somewhere and happen to be buried there for the last 500 years, does not mean you should stay there if that was not what you wanted.”

She said she was “fully behind” the campaign and said: “I hope, eventually, people shall listen.”

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) ruled last autumn that University of Leicester archaeologists could unearth remains from below a local council car park to ascertain whether they were those of Richard III. The MoJ allowed the university to decide where the bones should be reburied, and a reinterment is planned for Leicester Cathedral next year.

But Richard’s descendants say the MoJ’s failure to consult them breached Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which grants the right to respect for private and family life. The campaigners are being advised by Yorkshire law firm Gordons.

Matthew Howarth, from Gordons, said the judicial review and other proceedings would be issued within weeks.

The Plantagenet Alliance’s Stephen Nicolay, a 16th great nephew of Richard, said: “We have every hope that Matthew and his colleagues will succeed in these cases and help us significantly in our quest to have Richard’s remains buried at the most appropriate site, York Minster.”

The Dean and Chapter at the Minster has said it is happy for the remains to be re-buried in Leicester, but campaigners have been undeterred.

York Central MP Hugh Bayley said yesterday: “Now it has been established these are the remains of a king, it is blindingly obvious that his descendants should be consulted before the decision is made about where to bury his remains.”

York Outer MP Julian Sturdy said: “Given Leicester’s reluctance to discuss the issue, I fully understand the descendants’ frustration and their belief that a judicial review has sadly now become necessary.”

City of York Council leader James Alexander said: “We will be observing the progress of this challenge with interest as we prepare to meet representatives from Leicester at the Ministry of Justice, to discuss how the people of both cities can best celebrate and commemorate the life of the last king of the House of York.”