Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Travel Advice

Edward Morello Excerpts

Tuesday 11th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Edward Morello (West Dorset) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) for securing this vital debate, and for the powerful and deeply moving speech he made.

The story of Hudson Foley, a young man with his whole life ahead of him, tragically lost due to carbon monoxide poisoning while travelling, is one that should never have to be told. Yet, tragically, Hudson’s story is not an isolated case. There have been too many lives lost, too many families shattered, and the Government response is sadly inadequate. As we have discussed, carbon monoxide is an invisible killer: odourless, colourless and impossible to detect without proper equipment. It is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, paraffin, charcoal or wood do not burn properly, which makes it a hidden danger in many settings. Homes, hotels and holiday rentals are all susceptible.

Without adequate warning, education and safety measures, travellers are left vulnerable to risks they do not even know exist. As we have heard, the statistics are sobering. There were 28,900 deaths worldwide in 2021 alone. This issue does not affect only one country or demographic; it is a global problem and demands urgent action. The heartbreaking reality is that those deaths are preventable. My hon. Friend rightly made the point that portable carbon monoxide alarms can dramatically reduce the risk, yet far too few travellers are aware of their importance.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has a clear and pressing duty to act to protect not just British travellers, but their loved ones. It is failing to provide strong, explicit warnings about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning in its travel advice, and that must be addressed. British travellers trust FCDO guidance; it is widely used by individuals, families and the travel industry itself, and yet nowhere does it mention the very real risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. That must change.

The Liberal Democrats call on the Government to take the following steps immediately: update country-specific travel advice to include warnings about carbon monoxide poisoning risks; amend the guidance and foreign travel checklist pages to provide clear advice on CO safety; actively encourage travellers to carry portable carbon monoxide alarms and launch a public information campaign to ensure that travellers are aware of the risks and how to protect themselves. Those are incredibly simple, easily achievable measures that would save lives.

The loss of life that we have heard about today is not due to chance. It is a result of a failure to prioritise public health and safety. Under the last Conservative Government, the public health grant was cut by 26%, undermining crucial initiatives that could have helped prevent those tragedies. Let us be clear: every death from carbon monoxide poisoning is one too many. We have the tools to stop them happening and the Government should act. The case of Hudson Foley highlights how devastating inaction can be.

I must praise the dedication of Hudson’s family. It was only because of their persistence that his cause of death was confirmed—something that would have otherwise gone unnoticed, as many countries do not require a post-mortem toxicology report for suspected CO poisoning. I hope the Government will recognise that an appropriate tribute to his life and to the hard work of his family would be to adopt our proposals and prevent future deaths from happening.

We should not just stop at protecting travellers. We also need urgent action to ensure that people are safe in their own homes. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) highlighted cases in Northern Ireland. The recent tragedy in Swanage, Dorset, where three elderly people lost their lives, likely due to CO poisoning, has exposed serious gaps in our domestic regulations. Unlike in Scotland, care homes in England are exempt from CO alarm regulations—an appalling oversight. Vulnerable residents deserve protection, and the Liberal Democrats call on the Government to close that loophole immediately.

The issue also highlights broader failures in public health policy. The Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for an increase in the public health grant, ensuring that funding is allocated to address the worst health inequalities, including those linked to CO exposure. We should also push for greater awareness in travel literature, as outlined by my hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath, and urge travel agencies and tour operators to include carbon monoxide safety advice as standard practice.

Finally, I want to pay tribute to Cathy Foley, Hudson’s mother, and the incredible work she has done through Hudson’s Pack Safe appeal. Her campaign, in partnership with the Safer Tourism Foundation, has documented cases of carbon monoxide poisoning deaths across a wide range of accommodations worldwide, from major hotel chains to short-term rentals such as Airbnb. Cathy’s advocacy, alongside the cross-party support of the all-party parliamentary carbon monoxide group, demonstrates how much change is needed. I am deeply grateful to Cathy and her family for their work and for being here today to share their story—one that no parent should ever have to tell.

I do not think this should be a political issue. The Lancet has described carbon monoxide poisoning as an almost entirely preventable cause of death. There can be no justification for continued inaction. We owe it to Hudson and to his family, and to all those who have lost loved ones to this silent killer. By making simple, practical changes, we can save lives. I ask the Government to seize the opportunity to do so.