Corfu Gas Deaths: Thomas Cook 'Breached Duty'

Tour operator Thomas Cook has been told it should "hang its head in shame" after a jury found it "breached its duty of care" over the deaths of two children on holiday in Corfu.

Jurors reached a verdict of unlawful killing at the inquest into the deaths of Bobby and Christi Shepherd, aged six and seven.

The siblings, from Horbury in West Yorkshire, died at the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel when they were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes from a faulty boiler in an outbuilding.

Their mother Sharon Wood said she was "hugely relieved" that the fight for justice was over, adding that she would "always hold Thomas Cook responsible for their deaths".

Reading from a family statement, Lawyer Leslie Thomas QC said: "Thomas Cook is a multi-million pound operation who take money from families like this who expect to go on holiday and have the time of their lives.

"They do not expect to return from holiday with their children in coffins because Thomas Cook staff failed to properly check the standards of the hotel they stayed in.

"Thomas Cook should hang its head in shame.

"The families have waited nearly nine years for an apology - they are still waiting. We ask: will you say sorry now?"

Bobby and Christi were found by a chambermaid during the £2,000 holiday in October 2006.

Their father Neil and his partner - now wife - Ruth were found in comas but survived.

A two-week inquest in Wakefield heard about a series of faults in the rusting boiler, including a failure to fit a flue, a water leak which meant it was over-working and a crucial safety device that had been short-circuited.

Holes were also left in the walls between the outbuilding and the bedroom when air conditioning pipes were installed - branded a "bodged and botched" job by the coroner.

The previous occupants of the bungalow also become ill, jurors were told.

Several former employees of Thomas Cook appeared at the inquest but exercised their legal right not to answer questions.

Former chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa was asked whether the firm put "profit before safety" but refused to answer.

The man currently in the job, Peter Fankhauser, told jurors: "I feel so thoroughly, from the deepest of my heart, sorry, but there's no need to apologise because there was no wrongdoing by Thomas Cook."

Mr Fankhauser said the correct checks were not done because the hotel lied to Thomas Cook about there being no gas-fuelled water heaters at the complex.

Despite this, the jury found the tour operator "breached its duty of care" and West Yorkshire Coroner David Hinchliff is now considering his recommendations to the holiday industry.

Reacting to the verdict, Thomas Cook told Sky News everyone at the company had been "shocked and deeply saddened" by the children's deaths.

Their statement went on: "The Greek authorities launched a thorough criminal investigation in 2010 which found three of the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel employees guilty of manslaughter; that investigation cleared Thomas Cook's employees of any wrongdoing.

"The systems which were in place in 2006, which were intended to prevent such a tragedy, have since been thoroughly revised and address the criticisms made by the jury."