How Alice speaks to her brother shows how much she loves it here.. I’ll never stop fighting to get Jack to England and reunite them
- IAN SIMPSON, FATHER OF MURDERED MICHAEL
69, and Michael’s mum Linda, 70, who lives in Dorset, have spent almost £100,000 on lawyers and travel to China.
It seemed certain Jack and Alice would both be allowed to move to Britain. But this deal was withdrawn at the 11th hour ahead of a custody hearing in December.
The collapse of the deal left the family’s Chinese legal team and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in tears.
In the end, the Simpsons paid around £10,000 in an out-of-court settlement for custody of Alice. Ian says: “We did worry whether we were doing the right thing. They had offered Alice alone before and we always said no.
“But we were torn because if we let the judge decide the case and lost, we would probably never have seen them again.
Seeing how happy Alice is now makes me feel we did the right thing.”
As part of the settlement it was agreed the children would speak twice a week and spend a holiday together once a year.
But Ian and his family still dream of bringing Jack to England to live with his sister.
They are raising funds in the hope another financial settlement can be agreed. Ian says: “We are preparing to negotiate another deal.
“It’s been humbling to receive so much financial support from family, friends, neighbours and even strangers. “Everyone has been really generous. We feel very conscious that this is people’s money and I take that responsibility very seriously.” More than £8,700 has been pledged, including £2,000 from a charity auction organised by villagers. A lot of money has been donated by strangers online. Ian has focused so much energy on battling for his grandchildren that grieving for his murdered son has taken second stage. But he says he has received
“incredible” support from his wife, ex-wife and Michael’s brother Andrew.
Ian says: “In many ways we have all had to put our personal grief on hold. This week I am undergoing only my second bereavement counselling session, over two years after Michael’s death.
“I can still remember how he felt, that last cuddle with my arms around his back. I am always thinking about Michael, not a moment goes by without him being in my head.
“But the fight for Jack goes on.”
■ Help reunite Jack and Alice at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jack-and-alice