Families Lash Out At 'Rude' Consular Staff

Bereaved families of Britons who have died abroad have criticised Foreign Office staff for their lack of sensitivity, compassion and competence.

Although the Foreign Office stresses the limits of its role and the importance of "self help", an inquiry by a cross-party group of MPs has heard services were sometimes falling short of what the public could "legitimately expect".

The family of a teacher murdered in Havana in March 2012 told the committee that handling had been "wholly incompetent".

"We had an expectation that in such a time of crisis there would be an infrastructure of solid support, with efficient robust consular assistance," they wrote.

"This was not the case. The FCO (Foreign Office) added significantly to the trauma and confusion."

Karen Walchester said when her son was found dead in Tenerife there was "no one to take responsibility for care of a broken hearted family trying to muddle through a chaotic system whilst in terrible grief and confusion".

Jeanette Rooney, whose mother was found dead in France, said: "I feel that at times that certain diplomats I have dealt with were rude.

"I felt like a nuisance calling to ask for information. I felt that certain diplomats did not do their job to the full potential, they didn't chase up the French authorities on a regular basis.

"At times I was waiting weeks for replies to my questions which caused me a massive amount of stress on top of my loss."

One anonymous member of the public said their partner had been killed in the plane crash in Nepal in September 2012.

"The Ambassador did not meet me (despite having said on TV that they would do everything to help)," they wrote.

"One of his juniors did. They arrived in shorts and T-shirts. They hadn't even been to visit the crash site. When I asked why not they explained that it was because of 'staff cuts'."

The committee concluded that standards were being applied "inconsistently" by consular staff, resulting in "some exemplary experiences and some poor ones for families who are already going through a deeply traumatic time".

"We do not suggest that this is the fault of uncaring staff, but rather inexperience in handling cases of bereavement, time pressures, other competing priorities, and potentially a lack of training," the report said.

It suggested a central unit should be established to co-ordinate responses to deaths abroad.

The consular service has seen its budget curbed over the past several years, leading to a 50% reduction in staffing levels and the closure of around 15 consular posts abroad.

The group of MPs raised concerns that consuls were now 90% staffed by locals. They suggested the proportion should be 20% to avoid a future situation where top Foreign Office mandarins had no consular experience.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The committee's report recognises the high level of consular support staff provide to thousands of British nationals in distress overseas every year and the improvements we have already made.

"This is a priority for the Foreign Office. We have worked hard to improve our service and will continue to do so. This report will play an important role in this. We will consider the recommendations carefully and respond fully in due course."