Thomas Cook: Christi and Bobby Shepherd — House of Commons, 2015-07-14
Topic: Environment
Mary Helen Creagh (Labour, Centre-left): I begin by expressing my deepest condolences to the hon. Gentleman. I had no idea until he approached me in the Lobby that his family shared the experience of this tragedy. I believe there is a cross-party desire for change, and that is what we need to hear about from the Government this evening. We know that carbon monoxide monitors, which bought in bulk cost pennies, save lives. We also know that we need to raise awareness of the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning, because people do not understand how dangerous it is—two breaths can kill. This is incredibly important. Just as we would not go on holiday to a hotel that did not have smoke alarms, we need new industry standards for the tourism and hotels industry wherever gas is present. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will join us in our campaign. He is a new Member, and I am sure that he will be committed to this cause throughout his parliamentary life I saw the parents hear, during the inquest, how and why their children had died. They had to sit as the former chief executive of Thomas Cook, Manny Fontenla-Novoa, declined to answer the questions from their barrister; and they gasped, along with the whole country, when the current chief executive of Thomas Cook, Peter Fankhauser, said that Thomas Cook had "no need to apologise" Finally, in May, the inquest jury concluded that the children had been unlawfully killed and that Thomas Cook had "breached its duty of care" The Mail on Sunday then revealed that Thomas Cook had received compensation for the children’s deaths from the hotel. The compensation covered the cost of sending "media advisers" to Greece to limit reputational damage and loss of profits from cancelled bookings. To be fair, Thomas Cook announced it would donate the compensation to UNICEF, the children’s charity, yet even that gesture was a clumsy one, done as it was without consulting the parents and announced first to the media in a desperate damage limitation PR exercise ITV’s consumer affairs editor Chris Choi discovered that the hotel manager convicted over the children’s manslaughter was working at a different Thomas Cook hotel. Then came the news that the electrician who was also convicted over the tragedy was still employed at the same Corfu hotel where the children died The Mail on Sunday then reported that Harriet Green, Thomas Cook’s chief executive when the company tried to stop the inquest taking place, was to receive a multimillion-pound pay-out. Ms Green has now chosen to donate one third of her bonus to charity, and the parents are satisfied that some of the funds can be put to good use in the new carbon monoxide initiative that they will be involved with, in memory of the children. I am grateful to Ms Green’s law firm, Withers, which sent me an email at 5 o’clock in the morning to help my "fact checking" when I tabled early-day motion 42. If Ms Green’s lawyers ever find the letter which she alleges she wrote to the parents and which they say they never received, I am sure that they and we would be very glad to see it I recently met Mr Fankhauser, Thomas Cook’s chief executive. I know that he has spoken privately with the family and apologised to them, and that there has been a financial gesture of goodwill to them. He has launched an internal inquiry into the company’s response to the deaths of Christi and Bobby. Thomas Cook must never again fail another family Next year the building where the children died will be demolished and made into a play area. Thomas Cook is underwriting a new charity to the tune of at least £1 million to raise awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning. The family are satisfied with Mr Fankhauser’s new approach and his attempt to put things right. They would like to see the Government match-fund Thomas Cook’s contribution and do their bit too to put things right. I look forward to working with the family, Thomas Cook and hon. Members across the House on a new EU-wide carbon monoxide safety campaign. I hope we can organise a conference in this place, perhaps during carbon monoxide awareness week in November It is important to put these facts on the public record so that we do not forget those children. Bobby and Christi should not have died and the family should not have had to fight so long and so hard for justice. The travel industry and the Government must learn from their mistakes because tourism is responsible for around 9% of total GDP in the EU and over 9 million jobs. Consumer confidence is vital to the success of that industry As millions of British families get ready for their summer holidays, they want to know that they will all come home safely My colleague Linda McAvan, Yorkshire’s Labour MEP, has held five annual carbon monoxide round tables in the European Parliament with Victims of Carbon Monoxide, the Health Protection Agency, the Gas Safe Register, the Health and Safety Executive, energy retailers, the Association of British Travel Agents and countless others. In November last year, the European Commission launched a Green Paper on the safety of tourism accommodation services. ABTA’s submission to that Green Paper quotes Eurostat figures that 6% of European citizens experienced some form of safety issue on holiday. That equates to over 52 million tourists ABTA commissioned work from John Gregory, a CORGI gas safety expert. He condemns "a lack of legislative consistency throughout Europe", and the fact that there is "no Europe-wide statistical database providing data on serious incidents caused by carbon monoxide poisoning", which means that the extent of the problem is unknown owing to a lack of data, with each individual case presented as a tragic occurrence rather than as a systematic failure. He notes that "the competence, training and knowledge of the operative undertaking servicing and maintenance of gas appliances across the European Union are of a lesser standard than that required in the UK." Contrast ABTA’s submission with that of the UK Government. Paragraph 27 of the Government’s submission says that "a European safety standard would impose an unnecessary cost on tourism businesses in England." Paragraph 42 states that "the Secretary of State for culture, media and sport"— the reference is to the present Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid)— "has asked that we make clear in our response that…he felt it was not a good use of EU time." British families planning their summer holidays will be shocked to hear the former Secretary of State’s cavalier approach to their safety. British families need and deserve good safety standards across Europe and across the UK. The opposition of the Government and of other member states means progress on carbon monoxide safety has stalled. The EU Commission has decided that there is no case for introducing legislation on carbon monoxide safety in holiday accommodation after its Green Paper. That must change. The Government, too, have a duty of care to British citizens. The Prime Minister should make the safety of British tourists a priority as he seeks to renegotiate the UK’s relationship with the EU Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. Nothing will bring back Bobby and Christi, but their parents’ dearest wish is to spare other families the heartbreak they have suffered. I hope the Minister will today commit her Government to push for better carbon monoxide safety standards across Europe and in the UK. I hope Thomas Cook will live up to its promise to improve carbon monoxide awareness. The joys and heartaches of family life are known to every Member of this House, but no parent can imagine the feeling of losing one child on a holiday, let alone two children on the same night There is a photo missing from Sharon and Neil’s homes. It is the photo of Christi on her prom night, dressed up and having fun with her friends. She would have been 16 this year, waiting for her GCSE results and about to go to college for her A-levels. Another photo is missing. It is of Bobby. He should be studying for his GCSEs, hanging out with his friends and playing with his brothers and sisters. All that joy, all that future, all that hope and all that life have been stolen from them. Their parents have told me that they will never again have a perfect day The powers that be, whether in the Government and at Thomas Cook, should be in no doubt that I intend to use whatever power this place gives us to campaign for justice for Christi and Bobby and their parents. Theirs is a cause that cries out for change, for attention and for justice. We must see that they get it.