Thomas Cook criticised over Corfu deaths ‘apology’

Neil Shepherd and Sharon Wood said it was “disgraceful” that an apparent letter of apology from the company’s chief executive was only brought to their attention by journalists.

It’s not an apology for their wrong doing but a general offer of sympathy. Neil Shepherd and Sharon Wood

“We haven’t had this ‘so called’ letter of apology,” the couple said in a statement. “We have been shown it by the press and feel it is an appalling continuation of Thomas Cook’s PR exercise.

“It’s not an apology for their wrong doing but a general offer of sympathy.

“It does not address the central issue that their safety management system failed and it does not apologise for that.

“Our compensation was accepted before the inquest in which Thomas Cook were found to have breached their duty of care.”

‘Duty of care’

A Thomas Cook spokesman said chief executive Peter Fankhauser sent a letter of apology to the family on Friday, but refused to go into details about the correspondence.

On Wednesday a jury at the inquest into the deaths of Bobby and Christi Shepherd gave a conclusion of “unlawful killing” and said Thomas Cook had “breached its duty of care”.

The jury foreman also read out a series of conclusions which included how Thomas Cook had been misled by the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel about its gas supply, but also how the holiday giant’s health and safety audit of the complex was inadequate.

It has since emerged that Thomas Cook received a compensation payout after the deaths – reportedly in the region of £3.5m.