Thomas Cook slammed in Parliament
An MP who supported the family of two children who died on a Thomas Cook holiday has publically slammed the tour operator in Parliament and asked the company to review a bonus for former chief executive Harriet Green.
Mary Creagh, the MP for Wakefield and a Labour-leadership contender, yesterday said the conduct of Thomas Cook over the past nine years following the deaths of Bobby and Christi Shepherd from carbon monoxide poisoning in a holiday bungalow in Corfu in 2006 had been ‘disgraceful’.
Tabling an early day motion to highlight the tour operator’s treatment of the family, Creagh said Thomas Cook’s actions since the deaths of Bobby, 6, and Christi 7, had added to their parents’ grief.
The motion claimed that Thomas Cook tried to prevent an inquest into the children’s deaths from taking place and that former boss Harriet Green refused to meet the parents Neil Shepherd and Sharon Wood.
Creagh called on Thomas Cook’s remuneration committee to review the bonus of seven million shares, worth around £10.5 million, which Green is expected to receive in July.
The motion also noted that Manny Fontenla-Novoa, the chief executive who was in charge of Thomas Cook at the time of the children’s deaths during a half-term holiday at the Louis Corcyra Hotel, had exercised his right to remain silent at the inquest and that the present chief executive Peter Fankhauser said that Thomas Cook ‘had nothing to apologise for’.
The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing and the coroner said there had been a breach in Thomas Cook’s duty of care.
Creagh condemned the fact that two men convicted of the children’s manslaughter have been discovered working in Thomas Cook hotels, and slammed the hotel where the children died for reletting the bungalow, breaking a promise made to their parents.
The motion, so far signed by three other MPs, called on Thomas Cook to install carbon monoxide alarms in all its holiday accommodation where gas is present and asked the operator and the Government to lead a Europe-wide campaign for improved carbon monoxide safety in the UK and across the EU.
"This motion sets out the full facts of Thomas Cook’s actions. I want to ensure that Thomas Cook never fail another family," she Creagh.
Fankhauser last week apologised to the children’s family during a private meeting, during which it was agreed that Thomas Cook would pay an undisclosed amount to charities of their choice. The tour operator had previously announced that it would donate the £1.5 million compensation it received from the hotel following the children’s deaths to Unicef.
Green, who denied claims that she refused to meet with the children’s parents during her time at Thomas Cook, said this week that she would donate a third of her expected bonus to a charity of their choice.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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