I’M DESPERATE FOR ANSWERS
Mother of dead UK aid worker seeks to get body sent home
THE mum of tragic British aid worker Paul Urey was last night facing an agonising wait to get his body sent home.
Linda Urey was desperate for answers in her bid to repatriate her son who died while detained by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine.
Paul, 45, from Warrington, Cheshire, was captured near the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia.
Linda, of Preston, Lancs, said she had “not got a clue” about efforts to bring his body the 3,500 miles home. She added: “The International Red Cross are trying to get his body brought home to us. It’s a waiting game.”
Linda had earlier branded members of the Donetsk People’s Republic “murderers” and demanded: “Why did you let him die?”
The separatist group had accused the diabetic aid worker of “mercenary activities” and claimed he died after suffering “illness and stress”. It is feared Paul did not have medication and was left broken by interrogations. The separatists’ spokeswoman Daria Morozova said he was “given the necessary medical assistance despite the grave crimes he committed”. She added: “Given the diagnoses and stress, he passed away.”
Downing Street said the Foreign Office was “urgently investigating” and had summoned the Russian ambassador.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Russia “must bear full responsibility” for Paul’s death.
She added Russia “and its proxies are continuing to commit atrocities”.
scoops@sundaymirror.co.uk