Delighted to be able to launch this landmark report from the APPG Deaths Abroad, Consular Services and Assistance – “Why families in the UK deserve better and what can be done”
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It’s important to recognise the very difficult work the FCO does, but we believe consular staff must be better resourced, better trained and better supported, in order to do the very best they can for families bereaved by a deaths abroad.
“Why families in the UK deserve better and what can be done” highlights the urgent need to put compassion and common sense back at the heart of our consular services, where the current UK government’s failure to act has let bereaved families down.
The report is based on the testimony of more than 60 families as well as third-sector organisations and warns of the risks of secondary victimization of families and calls for legislation to enshrine in law the right to consular assistance for UK families.
Having listened to harrowing evidence from families, it is clear that changes must be made at the earliest opportunity. Experts have told us that these families are at risk of re-traumatisation and secondary victimization as a result of their experiences with the UK FCO.
Very little has changed for families since 2014 Foreign Affairs Select Committee review, families still feel let down and abandoned by their experience with FCO. It's not acceptable - this Tory government must right these inexcusable wrongs and implement these recommendations.
I established the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Deaths Abroad, Consular Services and Assistance after two of my Livingston constituents – Julie Pearson and Kirsty Maxwell – died in suspicious circumstances abroad.
A key recommendation is the creation of the ‘Pearson Maxwell Protocol’, a joined-up, cross-agency process that holds the hands of a bereaved family from point of notification of death, through travelling to country of death and repatriation, trialled between Scotland and Spain.
The report recommends all UK government departments, agencies, services and third-party organisations adopt a trauma-informed approach to protect families, and that special attention must be paid suspicious and unexplained deaths abroad.
Other recommendations include: a commitment to consistent signposting to relevant support agencies and establishing new relationships with specialist support orgs; a commitment to joined-up working across all bodies in the UK;
... the recognition of the importance of peer support for bereaved families; and that the UK, Scottish and devolved governments work with the insurance and travel industries to create a comprehensive, collaborative education campaign about travel insurance
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the families who contributed to this report, sharing their loss and baring their souls, knowing it would not help them but would make a difference for families in the future.
I look forward to working with all families, government departments, agencies and organisations to bring into effect these recommendations and prevent additional trauma and secondary victimization of families in the future.
