Grief-stricken family received no help

Clare Haughey MSP says she was let down by the foreign office when her son died suddenly in Amsterdam earlier this year.

The MSP for Rutherglen and her husband Paul are amongst dozens of UK families who claim they were “failed” by the foreign office in a hard-hitting parliamentary report.

The couple’s middle son Charlie, 20, died while on holiday in Holland in July.

They told the cross-party group investigating the handling of deaths abroad that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) had been “worse than useless”.

The All Party Parliamentary Group report on Deaths Abroad, Consular Services and Assistance (APPG) noted the FCOs actions towards the Haughey family “added stress and worry to the already existing traumatic experience”.

Ms Haughey told the Reformer: “I contacted them on the day that my son died. I contacted them that evening to let them know that we intended on travelling to Amsterdam so they knew we were going there.

“I was looking for some assistance from them, some contact details, who was available from the British consulate there.

“You expect when you are experiencing something like that, that the FCO will offer assistance and quite frankly, that is not the case.”

Explaining she did not hear from the British embassy upon her arrival in Amsterdam, the minister for mental health said she was contacted the next day and the only support offered was a list of undertakers who could repatriate her son to Scotland.

A note attached to the list said “most of them speak English”.

Ms Haughey said the lack of assistance was in sharp contrast to the Amsterdam police, who provided them with compassionate and regular support.

“We were fortunate enough that the Amsterdam police were amazing, they were so supportive,” Ms Haughey said. “They have clearly been trained to support people who are going through trauma. They went absolutely above and beyond and without that I really don’t know what we would have done.”

The APPG spoke to 60 UK families, including from Scotland, whose loved ones had either gone missing, been imprisoned or died abroad and their testimony was a damning indictment on the FCO.

Hannah Bardell MP set up the APPG after coming “against a brick wall” in seeking help for the families of her Livingston constituents Julie Pearson and Kirsty Maxwell, who both died in suspicious circumstances abroad.

Ms Bardell said some of the recommendations made in her report would require legislation, for example, a legal right to consular services which she said many citizens would be surprised they do not have.

The report also recommends that the FCO introduces a culture of openness, clear communication, transparency, kindness and empathy and initiates a culture of proactively trying to help families. It also recommends that families are allocated a caseworker of sufficient experience for the complexity of their situation.

Ms Haughey added: “I thought that the recommendations were well researched and thought through, but this is just a starting point. There are some things that will take time and legislation, but there are some things that could be done that are really simple.

“I don’t want any other family to experience what we have experienced. I would hope that through this report there will be changes and families will be supported with compassion, a bit of care and that the FCO will look at how they engage with UK citizens abroad.”

Ms Haughey commended Ms Bardell on the report and said she is eager to see how the next UK Government responds to the report.

A FCO spokesperson responded: “Last year we helped more than 22,000 British people overseas and the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive.

“We are disappointed that the APPG declined our offer to meet with them and explain the professional and empathetic support we already give.”

You expect when you are experiencing something like that, that the FCO will offer assistance