After Three Years And Two Court Cases I Still Don‘t Know Why My Boys Died

Exclusive devastated hotel fire victim’s mum hits out at fatal accident inquiry veto

- Jenny Foulds

A GRIEVING mum has vowed to fight on and get answers over her son’s hotel fire death after prosecutors refused to launch a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI).

Despite three agonising years and two court cases, Jane Midgley, 60, still doesn’t know why her son and his partner couldn’t escape the Cameron House blaze – and why it took 80 crucial minutes for anyone to realise they were missing.

She was hoping an FAI would answer her lingering questions but was left devastated and angry this week after the Crown Office rejected her pleas.

The probe into her son Simon Midgley and his partner Richard Dyson’s deaths wasn’t in the public interest, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said.

The tragic couple, described as “soulmates”, were killed after a porter placed a bag of fireplace ash into a cupboard on December 18, 2017, sparking the blaze.

In January, Christopher O’Malley was sentenced to 300 hours of unpaid work and the hotel firm fined £500,000 over a string of fire safety failures,

Jane has been left baffled by the Crown’s latest decision and has vowed to appeal. She insists the FAI must be held to answer questions over the couple’s final moments and to avoid further tragedies.