§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps have been taken to record the number of United Kingdom nationals who die abroad.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggOur posts report, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office records, the deaths of British nationals abroad in the following circumstances
(a) where substantial assistance of a consular official has been requested, and provided:and/or(b) where consular death registration has been effected.There is no requirement for the death of a British national overseas to be registered at a British consulate.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make further representations to the Spanish Government to secure the prosecution of those responsible for the death of Gary Maher in Tenerife in 1985.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe Spanish authorities investigating this case concluded in August 1992 that there was insufficient evidence to bring a prosecution, and the case was closed. It can be re-opened at any time if new evidence is produced.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to facilitate a second opinion on the diagnosis of Spanish doctors to ensure that they do not misdiagnose the cause of death of United Kingdom nationals in Spain.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggOne way of obtaining a second opinion on the cause of death of a British national in Spain, following an inquest in Spain, is to repatriate the body to the United Kingdom. When the body of a British national dying abroad from other than natural causes is repatriated to this country, coroners in England and in Wales must hold an inquest. In Scotland the Procurator Fiscal's office is not obliged to conduct a fatal accident inquiry.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what circumstances an autopsy is performed or an inquest held on United Kingdom subjects who have died abroad.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe decision to hold an autopsy or inquest overseas on a United Kingdom subject who has died abroad follows the law of the land in which the person died.
31WWhere the body of a British national dying abroad from other than natural cause is repatriated to this country, coroners in England and Wales must hold an inquest. In Scotland the Procurator Fiscal's office is not obliged to conduct a fatal accident inquiry.
A coroner may call for an autopsy should he consider one necessary to complete the inquest.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Spanish Government over United Kingdom nationals who are left untreated in hospital wards pending checks on their insurance cover.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggWe have not been notified of any such cases.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Spanish Government to ensure that a full court hearing is held in Spain on the death of Gary Maher in Tenerife in 1985; and what explanation he has received for the delay.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggIt would be wrong for us to try to influence Spanish judicial procedures. The Spanish authorities have already decided, after a full investigation, that the criminal case should be closed because of insufficient evidence to bring a prosecution. The civil case, which is a private matter, continues.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes he has made or intends to make in the procedures for informing relatives when British citizens die abroad on holiday.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggFollowing a recent case in which the organisation which had undertaken to break the news of a British national's death overseas to the next of kin failed to do so, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has introduced procedures for checking in all cases that such undertakings are met.