Brian Millin Responds to Events in Parliament
The stepfather of a Maidenhead man who was shot dead in Texas said he ‘profoundly’ disagrees with Government’s approach towards families of loved ones murdered abroad. Brian Millin’s stepson Thomas Reeve’s life was tragically cut short at the age of 28 when the father of one died after being shot in a bar in Amarillo, Texas in November 2009 while on a road trip in America with two friends. Mr Millin has previously spoken out over a lack of help from the British Government or consulate at the time.
He and Thomas’ mother Margaret are members of the charity Murdered Abroad, which has long campaigned for families of those who have been killed abroad to receive the same support as those whose loved ones are killed in England and Wales. Maidenhead’s MP Joshua Reynolds has been advocating for families in the Commons and previously secured an adjournment debate on the issue. He then put forward an amendment to the Victims and Courts Bill which looked to expand the definition of the term ‘victim’ to also include bereaved families of British nationals who have been killed abroad. However, this amendment was voted down in the Commons in October. Since then, an amendment to the Bill, carried by the House of Lords, has come before the Commons for consideration. The amendment proposed creating an appendix to the Victims’ Code, outlining how the code applies to close relatives of British nationals who are victims of murder, manslaughter and infanticide outside the UK, where the victim was a resident within England and Wales.
Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, March 25, Alex Davies-Jones, Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for Justice, told MPs: “The Government cannot support this Lords amendment, as it risks placing obligations on agencies to provide services to bereaved families that are impossible to deliver in practice and that in some places would go beyond what is in the Victims’ Code. It also risks confusing the existing legislative framework and therefore the workability of the code, and it could raise the expectations of victims.”
Ms Davies-Jones added that in January, the Government published guidance bringing together information for families ‘about the services that can support them’. The FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) has ‘committed itself to reviewing and refreshing its training provision for all consular staff’, Ms Davies-Jones said. The amendment was voted down by 295 votes to 162.
Reacting to the debate, Mr Millin said he ‘profoundly’ disagrees with the approach taken by the Government and Alex Davies-Jones. “The decision to reject the amendment in favour of non-binding guidance is a missed opportunity to provide real security for those who need it most. Guidance is simply not sufficient. Victims of homicide abroad deserve legal status, not just a collection of published advice. While I welcome the prospect of more training at the FCDO, it isn't enough to address the systemic gaps families face. The Government’s current approach is, quite frankly, unacceptable. He added that a change in the law would ‘cover the estimated 60 to 80 families who experience the trauma of a violent death abroad each year’.
Mr Reynolds, who also spoke in the debate, said afterwards: “They have campaigned, they have lobbied, they have told their stories in public when no parent should ever have to, and this Government looked them in the eye and voted it down. The Government chose to ignore it, and that is a decision they will have to justify to every one of those families. This is not over. We will keep fighting.”
The Government states it cannot support the amendment because ‘many of the entitlements’ in the Victims’ Code cannot apply as the case is not being prosecuted within the UK. A Government spokesperson said: “We published victim-focused guidance to provide clear and accessible information about the support available and we are reviewing training for consular staff. We will carefully consider the implications of this amendment and set out our next steps in due course."