'No justice' over Cameron House Hotel fire death, mother warns

The mother of a man who died along with his partner in a fatal hotel fire has said her family has received “no justice”.

Jane Midgley’s son Simon and his partner Richard Dyson died in the fire at Cameron House Hotel by Loch Lomond in December 2017.

The Crown Office has said a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) is not needed because the circumstances of how the two men had died had been determined.

But Ms Midgley said she was prepared to fight for an inquiry so as to prevent a similar loss of life in the future.

Last week, the Crown Office said it was "satisfied" the reasons for the tragedy had been established.

It also said the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service would "highlight the investigation and the tragic outcomes" to the accommodation sector.

However, Ms Midgley told BBC Scotland News she had been left devastated.

Richard Dyson and Simon Midgley died at the Cameron House Hotel.

"My life is ruined, my life is destroyed because of this, and I’ve no justice, no amount of justice,” she said.

“No prison sentence, no fine would ever justify what's happened, so all I've got to do now is fight for this Fatal Accident Inquiry and make it safer for everybody else. And I hope and pray that they do."

In January, Cameron House was ordered to pay £500,000 after admitting to breaches of fire safety rules, which led to the deaths of Mr Midgley, 32, and Mr Dyson, 38, who were guests at the hotel.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard the fire started after night porter Christopher O'Malley placed a plastic bag of ash in a cupboard containing kindling and newspapers.

The 35-year-old admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and was given a community payback order to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.

Two weeks ago, Kevin McLoughlin, a senior coroner in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, ruled that Mr Midgley and Mr Dyson were unlawfully killed.

Mr McLoughlin expressed "puzzlement" that he had not been allowed access to documents and CCTV footage by authorities in Scotland.

A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said once a request for a review of the decision not to hold an FAI had been received, it would be conducted by Crown Counsel with no previous involvement in the matter.

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