Relatives criticise Foreign Office

The Foreign Office came under attack today from bereaved relatives of tsunami disaster victims for its "incompetent" and "shocking" handling of the crisis.

Families accused the department of failing to help them on the ground as they tried to find loved ones, detailing a lack of basic information and a fundamental collapse of its systems.

One man who has lost his son claimed British consular officials in Thailand conducted a campaign of deliberate misinformation. Another man described how he was forced to place the corpse of his son James in a makeshift coffin after Foreign Office officials said he would have to take the body home himself.

The furious volley from the bereaved comes on top of criticism of the department's repeated delays in releasing details on the number of Britons missing after the disaster.

Eight days after the tsunamis tore into Asia, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw broke the news that 40 Britons were confirmed dead with another 159 unaccounted for and "highly likely" to have died.

Businessman Robert Brewster, who believes he has lost his son, Nicolas, and his son's German fiancee, Christina Buelow, said British embassy staff in Thailand had been "unhelpful" and "appalling".

Mr Brewster, 59, who lives in Antibes in France, has organised a petition to be sent to the Prime Minister, the Foreign Office and Michael Howard urging them to improve the way officials deal with relatives in similar disasters. "We are shocked and appalled by the attitude of the British Foreign Office," he said.

"It is unfortunate that the Foreign Office is taking such a callous attitude and we must all work to change this."

Mr Brewster arrived in Thailand on Thursday to try to find the couple, only to discover that his son's employers, Nestle, had better information than the British government. "Nestle were streets ahead of the British officials," he said. "They knew what was going on, the British did not.

"We were very privileged in that we

got out there and we were taken around. The majority of British people have not had that chance."

Mr Brewster, who praised the French and German embassies for the help they offered, described the Foreign Office operation as one of "total and utter incompetence".

"I realised they were totally inefficient and miles behind me in their knowledge," he said.

"At City Hall in Phuket they did not have the papers for me to file a missing person report, and said I had to go to a different office some distance away. I left the British stand as I felt I already had a better grasp of the situation than they had and filed a missing report with the German representative for

Christina. He was very efficient and kindly undertook to file Nic's report for us as well.

"There was deliberate disinformation. I overhead a conversation in Phuket between consular officials when they were saying: 'Keep the figures low and don't give out too much information.'"

Dale Hurren was forced to place the corpse of his 22-year-old son James in a makeshift plywood coffin after Foreign Office officials told him: "You'll have to bring him home yourself."

Mr Hurren said Embassy staff in Thailand refused to help with the £2,000 cost of flying the body home on the grounds that no "policy decision" had been made.

"You expect the British Government to do more for its people in a crisis such as this. I can take James home but what about those

other poor sods and their families?"

A Foreign Office spokeswoman admitted that the family had not received the level of service required in the circumstances but said officials had offered assistance, including the service of an international undertaker.

On websites and online message boards, which have become a makeshift support network, relatives told of their frustration with the Foreign Office. Many have been unable to even get through to the department's information line.

Rob White, from Devon, who has friends in Sri Lanka, said: "After a million calls I finally got through to the FO number, only to be put on hold for 30 minutes and then cut off. What kind of communication is that?"

William Owen, from Colwyn Bay, whose daughter is also in Sri Lanka, said: "Nobody can give me any answers. There are many injured people and some have lost relatives but not one person has heeded my plea for information."

Kevin Tunbridge, of Suffolk, said he was looking for news of his son and his son's girlfriend in Thailand. "I have tried to contact the Foreign Office and the Bangkok Embassy all day, but all I have reached is a recorded BT message." Alan Jones, whose daughter Charlotte, 23, was on the island of Racha Yai, south of Phuket in Thailand, said he was " disgusted" by the lack of help given to his wife Elizabeth as she conducted a hopeless search. Mr Jones, 57, a management consultant from Petersfield, Hampshire, said: "The number of people looking for loved ones is very high and I find it disgusting that the British public have been able to show such generosity and the British Governmenthas not." Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the Government's aid effort was "exemplary" and rejected the criticism. "The question for the British public is: 'Is there a single thing the British Government could and should have done that it has not done, notwithstanding the fact the Prime Minister is abroad?' The answer is 'no'."