Thomas Cook to take action against BBC over Corfu report
Thomas Cook is taking action against the BBC through Ofcom following Panorama’s report on the tragic gas poisoning of two children in Corfu.
The tour operator criticised the programme for “gross misrepresentation of the facts”.
In it, the children’s mother, Sharon Wood, said she holds Thomas Cook “totally and utterly responsible” for the deaths of Christianne Shepherd, 7, and her brother Robert, 6, last October.
Thomas Cook believes the report was “incomplete, inaccurate and unbalanced”.
Group chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said: “The very nature of the Panorama programme led us to believe that it would take a negative stance towards Thomas Cook and the travel industry.
“We therefore worked with the programme makers as much as we could within the legal constraints we are bound by due to the ongoing investigations. However, Panorama clearly chose to omit large sections of our statement in a bid to sensationalise the story.”
He said the allegation that one of the company’s overseas reps undertook the health and safety audit at the hotel was “simply untrue”.
“Despite claims to the contrary, Thomas Cook stands resolutely by its previous statements that it followed all the necessary health and safety processes in line with the FTO’s Code of Practice,’ the company said in a statement today.
“At least two other major tour operators also confirmed that the Louis Corcyra Beach had passed their own FTO compliant audits. All holiday companies need to rely on information that its hotel partners give it and are entitled to do so.”
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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