UK Government Under Fire for Inaction in Grenada Homicide

The tragic death of Andrew Frederick, a 47-year-old British national, has sparked a call for action from his grieving family. Frederick's body was discovered on January 4th in his home on the Caribbean island of Grenada, and his family is now demanding an urgent review of UK policies regarding support for families of Britons killed abroad.

According to a family spokesperson, they were compelled to take matters into their own hands due to concerns about the local police investigation. They launched public appeals, hired an independent pathologist, and engaged a private investigator. The pathologist, approved by the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF), determined that Frederick had been tortured and that his death was a homicide.

Despite receiving this postmortem report, the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) declined to refer the case to its specialized murder and manslaughter team, which is designed to support families in such tragic circumstances. This decision has left the family feeling abandoned and frustrated.

In a powerful statement, the family expressed their dismay at the FCDO's choice to defer to the local police's classification of the death as 'suspicious' rather than accepting the pathologist's homicide determination. This decision was made without any legal basis or guidance, according to Dr. Rupa Huq, the Ealing Central and Acton MP, who tabled a question in parliament regarding this matter.

The FCDO's response, provided by undersecretary Hamish Falconer, acknowledged the case but cited a lack of specific guidance. This bureaucratic delay and lack of support have taken a significant toll on the family, who have received no updates from the RGPF since mid-January.

The family's grief is compounded by the struggle for justice, as they grapple with the horrific details of Frederick's death and the bureaucratic hurdles they face. Eve Henderson, co-founder of the Murdered Abroad charity, which is assisting the family, expressed surprise at the FCDO's reluctance to offer the murder and manslaughter team's support, given the clear evidence of homicide.

The charity, established after Henderson's husband was killed abroad in 1997, played a pivotal role in the creation of the FCDO's murder and manslaughter team in 2015. Henderson highlighted the frequency of British nationals being victims of homicide abroad, emphasizing the need for better support systems.