Straw apologises for lack of support for UK victims

Jack Straw, UK foreign secretary, on Monday apologised for the lack of support provided by diplomatic staff to some of the British families caught up in last year?s Asian tsunami.

Some 150 Britons died in the disaster, mostly in Thailand. Some families and survivors have complained about the poor service received from consular officials on the ground. The Foreign Office was also criticised for its helpline, which was swamped with calls.

?Our people did a very good job, and I?m proud of them,? Mr Straw told BBC television. ?But it was a job that wasn?t good enough for some families, and I apologise to them, and I have apologised to them unreservedly.?

Mr Straw admitted that the Foreign Office had been slow to keep up with the increased demands on its consular services posed by the rapid expansion of international tourism.

Tourists overseas used mobile phones to contact local embassies when they ran into trouble, he said.

In a recent change to personnel rules, all senior staff now needed to demonstrate sufficient management experience before they could be promoted to ambassador, Mr Straw added.

The Foreign Office had put new emergency arrangements in place in the wake of the tsunami. The facilities were used to help the victims of the bombings in Sharm-el-Sheikh and Istanbul.