An MP who brought together bereaved families, travel industry leaders and Foreign Office officials to accelerate action on raising awareness of methanol poisoning has told the Gazette that the greatest legacy that can be made in memory of victims such as solicitor Simone White is to save lives.
Last week Lib Dem MP Tom Morrison and Labour MP Jim Dickson convened a roundtable in parliament attended by bereaved families including the parents of Simone, Kirsty McKie and and Greta Otteson. Other representatives were present from Airlines UK, Airports UK, Heathrow Airport, ABTA, Manchester Airport Group, Safer Tourism Foundation and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Morrison, who represents the McKie family, told the Gazette that there was general consensus that despite an FCDO awareness campaign beginning this summer, the travel industry needs to step up. ‘We have got agreements for further meetings with Manchester and Heathrow to talk about how we can use the infrastructure in airports to promote the campaign more,’ he said.
Promoting the dangers of methanol poisoning in duty free was also discussed. ‘It’s far safer to buy spirits at duty free than in some of the countries we’re talking about, such as Bali and Laos,’ Morrison said.
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Morrison said one person dies from methanol poisoning every 18 hours and stressed that it is not a spiking issue. ‘People need to understand the issue is where drinks are being brewed, made or concocted in a very harmful way by very bad people,’ he said.
On the importance of raising awareness, Morrison said: ‘This is for Simone, Kirsty and anyone else who has been impacted. Their legacy cannot be what happened to them. If we can save lives going forward, that’s the greatest legacy to give in their memory.’
The roundtable was attended by solicitor Hannah-Mei Grisley, who worked with Simone at Squire Patton Boggs and is a member of an awareness campaign set up in Simone’s memory.
Grisley said: ‘We felt that the roundtable was another positive step forward to progressing wider awareness of the risks of methanol poisoning in the UK. The FCDO and travel partners agreed to consider how more touchpoints in a traveller’s journey, such as posters in toilet cubicles, tannoy announcements in the airport and airport WiFi messaging, could help educate travellers on the risks of drinking alcohol abroad and symptoms of methanol poisoning.
‘We look forward to supporting the methanol awareness campaign launched by the FCDO this summer to ensure that travellers know how to enjoy their holidays safely and that no more families and friends lose a loved one to methanol poisoning.’
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