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I think the problem is that Jewish and Muslim families *are* asking to jump the queue. The argument that they are not, seems to be that because there is no requirement for a quick burial for (most) other people, that it is is reasonable to accommodate them.

As I see it, the difficulty is that releasing body for burial is not the only reason why it matters. People who have no strong religious requirement for a quick burial are still grieving, they still want to know what happened and how their loved one died, they still want to be able to take them and arrange a funeral.
Many people find the idea of a post-mortem or inquest immensely distressing and want to get it over with as soon as possible.
And even where people don't want a speedy burial, they may want their relative's body to be released - for instance, so that it can be at a local undertakers so family members can visit and grieve together. It isn't *just* about speed of burial.

Of course, all of those things apply to any Jewish or Muslim family having to wait for a coroner, as well , but it does seem that the Coroner is trying to balance the needs of all of the families and I don't think she is wrong to do so. I don't think this is an issue which has a single right answer

And I think it is very probable that a family coping with all of those issues, and then finding that the release of their family member's body has taken longer because others have been prioritised for religious reasons would feel, with some justification, that they had been treated badly.

I think that a policy which allowed relatives to specify that they were willing to wait a little longer, in order to enable those who wanted a quicker turnaround for religious or other reasons might be a way forward, but I think that you would have to build in a way to let people know what the likely timescales are. Agreeing to wait a week instead of a day is very different to agreeing (or being asked) to wait for 3 weeks instead of a few days, for instance. )