Thomas Cook: Christi and Bobby Shepherd

Tracey Crouch Excerpts

Tuesday 14th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Tracey Crouch)]

For nearly a decade now, the family of Christi and Bobby Shepherd have faced an extraordinarily difficult time, but for the past year, in particular, they have shown incredible resilience throughout the investigations into the cause of this terrible occurrence. The strength that they have exhibited over the past nine years is matchless, by any account. I know that the whole House will want to extend its deepest condolences to Mrs Sharon Wood and Mr Neil Shepherd, and to all of Christi and Bobby’s loved ones. Our thoughts are very much with them at this time. I would not wish what they have gone through on anyone.

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mary Creagh), not only for her efforts in securing this debate but for all that she has done over the years to support the family of Christi and Bobby Shepherd. The hon. Lady and, indeed, my hon. Friend the Member for High Peak (Andrew Bingham) have become champions of greater carbon monoxide safety within the UK and across the European Union. Their ongoing efforts in this area of consumer safety should be recognised for the important work that it is, and I commend them for their dedication. My hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Michael Tomlinson) made a really powerful intervention. I hope he will join cross-party colleagues in this incredibly important campaign. The deaths of Christi and Bobby Shepherd were a horrific tragedy. They should not have been allowed to happen and they should never happen again. UK residents enjoy foreign travel and made 60 million visits last year. Their safety must be an absolute priority.

The hon. Lady went through the sequence of events in some detail, and I want to reiterate some of the fundamental details of what happened, but I am conscious of time and of the fact that she will want some proper answers to the points that she raised. At the end of the day, we should remember that four people were found in a hotel by a chambermaid having been overcome by carbon monoxide from a faulty boiler. While Neil and Ruth were unconscious, the two children, Bobby and Christi, tragically, had died.

Investigations were conducted by the Greek authorities. A UK coronial inquest into the cause of death of the two children concluded earlier this year that Christi and Bobby Shepherd died unlawfully as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. As the hon. Lady said, the coroner in charge of the inquiry, David Hinchcliff, found that although the holiday operator was misled by the hotel about safety, Thomas Cook’s own practices for ensuring guest safety were insufficient.

The hon. Lady mentioned the compensation that Thomas Cook received and a recent donation it made, so I will not go over that again. However, it is absolutely clear that the extended and ongoing dialogue between it and the family has contributed to the family’s distress. There are clearly lessons that Thomas Cook must learn from this dreadful episode. The coroner’s report makes it clear that the company needs to review and improve its safety practices. Robust safety procedures are enshrined in law, and they were not followed. Thomas Cook should also reflect at length on how it has treated a grieving family. Its duty of care extends beyond the physical and the letter of the law. There is a fundamental standard of human decency that must be met in future.

Of course, the letter of the law matters too. UK holiday companies are subject to specific regulations regarding the performance of the package contract. The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 clearly state that the organisers of a package holiday sold or offered for sale in the UK are responsible for the proper performance of the contract, including for elements supplied by third parties such as hoteliers. Madam Deputy Speaker, if you were to take your family on holiday here in the UK, you would rightly expect adherence to all proper safety measures. You would also be forgiven for assuming that this would be the case when you take your family abroad. Unfortunately, as this tragic case proves, that is not always so.

In the light of this, the hon. Lady was concerned by the Government’s response to the European Commission’s green paper on the safety of tourism accommodation services. The purpose of this paper was to ascertain whether the current legislation, adopted by member states, adequately protects tourists travelling within the EU. In response to this publication, the previous Government determined that current UK legislation does make necessary safety provision. Subsequently the European Commission also concluded that there was no established connection between the existing regulatory framework across member states, the absence of EU regulation, and risks to consumers. It is therefore not considering European-level consumer protection in the area of tourism accommodation at present. However, the issue in this case was adherence to standards. Had the standards been adhered to, Bobby and Christi would not have lost their lives.

[Mary Creagh]

The European Commission has withdrawn or paused—I think that is the word—its proposals on improving the protection from carbon monoxide because there was no will from member states, including from our Government, to act in this area. However, there is a clear will among the British public and across this House, so will the Minister undertake to look afresh at the Government’s position? This issue will not go away. Indeed, as Greece receives piped gas, it will become a bigger issue in the Greek holiday industry. While these tragedies are happening, we cannot say, “All is well; there’s nothing to see here,” and move on.

[Tracey Crouch]

I was just about to say that we need to keep this issue under constant review. There is no room for complacency. Although the Government do not think that there is a need to amend the primary legislation at the moment, there is a strong case for considering how effectively the laws are enforced.

As the hon. Lady pointed out, ABTA and its partners have long campaigned on this issue. I can tell her and the House that, as a direct response to this debate, I will be meeting ABTA and the industry to ensure that it fully understands its duty of care to consumers. It is imperative that the sector commits itself to upholding best practice, from industry suppliers all the way to the end user—the customer.

I hope that the appointment of Justin King, who has been tasked with the responsibility of leading an internal review of Thomas Cook’s customer health, safety, welfare, relations and crisis management practices, will mark the beginning of a healing process between the family of Bobby and Christi and the holiday operator.

Now that the relevant criminal proceedings and verdicts have been considered, I urge tourism operators across the UK to reflect on the lessons learned and to be ever vigilant. The safety of tourists, both here and abroad, must come before all other concerns. I will reinforce that message to the industry in the coming months, and I hope that the hon. Lady will support the Government in this work, which will protect the safety of future tourists and honour the memory of Bobby and Christi Shepherd.

[Mary Creagh]

I thank the Minister for her response to the debate. I want to leave her in no doubt that people across the country—medics, campaigners and all sorts of people—have come forward to Members from across the House as a result of this case, and this is an issue that really will not go away. Just like in my long campaign for scalding valves to be fitted, in the end the moral arc will tend towards justice for these children. As I said at the end of my speech, there are many people in the House who, having heard this story, will not rest until we see a minimum European safety standard across all EU member states to ensure that we protect—