Members’ Meeting, 13 Sept 2025, Manchester
The meeting took place at the Greater Manchester Police Sedgley Park Training Centre. GMP have hosted us many times before, and as usual there was a warm welcome for the 21 attendees, many of whom had stayed on Friday night.
The meeting started with a Round the Table introduction. Each family spent around 5 minutes outlining the who, when and where of their own bereavement. There were newcomers with recent bereavements as well as stories that were decades old and everyone in between. A common thread was the lack of support from UK agencies and a lack of parity with those who'd suffered a similar bereavement in the UK.
After the Round the Table we welcomed our guest speaker Helen Boniface. Helen is a Solicitor from Hogan Lovells and part of the firm's pro bono department. She has represented bereaved families following deaths and serious incidents in the UK and overseas for over a decade. Particular specialisms include: representation at Coroner Inquests and use of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. She spoke about how Coroner Inquests work, how her company decides on which pro bono work to do and how they treat pro bono cases compared to paying clients (there is no difference; they're treated the same), how this might differ with other companies, and how in a situation where a loved one has been murdered abroad a company with overseas departments could be beneficial.
After the buffet lunch, Eve and Bren gave a Trustees’ update. The Trustees remain as busy as ever and have had meetings with the FCDO, UK Police, NCA and some individual MPs. Miles Manning, our police advisor, joins Eve at FCDO meetings and attended the Manchester meeting. One of our members has been working with Joshua Reynolds MP who secured an Adjournment Debate on the 12 May in the House of Commons. Parliament. The transcript in Hansard is on this link:
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2025-05-12b.174.0&s=%27Murdered+Abroad%27
The Trustees thanked David Pockett for all the work he's done and continues to do to build a database of lawyers around the world who are prepared to act for British citizens who have suffered a murder abroad.
We also watched Lehanne's TV interview with Ed Balls on Good Morning Britain about the success she'd had in identifying her aunt's murderer - https://youtu.be/7mFLnxpbtGc
A short video to say thank you to MA members who were in attendance, for their fundraising efforts. MA is unfunded by any government department and Trustees are not paid.
The day ended with a general discussion, including how we might raise awareness of the difficulties and inequalities encountered when dealing with the situation in which a loved one has been murdered abroad. David Willington, a new volunteer, offered to look into what more can be done to raise the profile of Murdered Abroad.
The meeting ended at 4pm. The next meeting is in London on 15 November 2025.