Corfu carbon monoxide inquest: Thomas Cook boss refuses to apologise for children's deaths
Peter Fankhauser was giving evidence at the hearing into the deaths of Christi and Bobby Shepherd, aged seven and six, who died at a hotel complex in Corfu
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Thomas Cook has nothing to apologise for over the deaths of two children from carbon monoxide poisoning while on holiday in Greece, the travel firm’s current boss has told an inquest.
Group chief executive officer Peter Fankhauser was giving evidence at the hearing in Wakefield into the deaths of Christi and Bobby Shepherd, aged seven and six, who died at a hotel complex in Corfu in October 2006.
Mr Fankhauser took to the witness box after one of his predecessors, Manny Fontenla-Novoa, refused to answer a series of questions put to him about the tragedy.
Thomas Cook Group’s current chief executive, who took up his role in November last year, was asked to apologise to the family on behalf of the firm.
He said: “I feel incredibly sorry for the family – incredibly sorry. But I don’t have to apologise.”
Leslie Thomas QC, representing Bobby and Christi’s family, asked Mr Fankhauser to explain why he did not feel Thomas Cook should apologise.
Mr Fankhauser replied: “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.”
The jury at the inquests, which started last week, has heard that the children, from Horbury, near Wakefield, were on a half-term break with their father, Neil, and his partner, now wife, Ruth, when the tragedy happened.
They were found dead in a bungalow in the grounds of the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel by a chambermaid. Mr and Mrs Shepherd were found in comas but later recovered.
The jury has heard that Bobby and Christi were poisoned by carbon monoxide from a faulty hot water boiler housed in an outbuilding.
Mr Fankhauser said Thomas Cook, which had a policy of avoiding hotels where rooms had gas hot water appliances, was lied to by people at the hotel who said there was no gas supply at the complex.
And he said the immediate cause of the problem was that a vital safety device had been disconnected on the boiler.
Mr Fankhauser gave evidence immediately after Mr Fontenla-Novoa, who was chief executive of Thomas Cook’s UK and Ireland operation in 2006 and went on to become group chief executive – the post he held when he gave evidence to West Yorkshire Police in 2009.
Coroner David Hinchliff warned Mr Fontenla-Novoa that he did not have to an-swer any questions which might incriminate him and the witness then responded to virtually every question put to him by saying, “I decline to answer”.
Mr Thomas began his questioning by asking Mr Fontenla-Novoa: “I’m going to suggest to you that what was more important to Thomas Cook was profit, so Thomas Cook put profit before safety.”
Mr Fontenla-Novoa said: “I decline to answer.”
But when he was invited by Mr Thomas to “look my clients in the eyes” and express his sympathy, Mr Fontenla-Novoa said: “I deeply regret the incident that occurred.”
He turned to look at Christi and Bobby’s parents as he said the words and repeated them when he was asked by the barrister to speak louder.
The children’s mother, Sharon Wood, said from the public gallery: “Speak up for yourself, then.”
The family was sitting about five metres away, just behind their legal representatives.
According to the statement read by the coroner, Thomas Cook Group in 2009 was a FTSE 100 company with worldwide sales of £8.5bn and 22.3 million customers.
The inquest continues.