A British father whose daughter drowned while diving in Albania says he feels like her death has been “swept under the carpet” and he’ll never stop fighting for justice for her.
George Gannon, 61, told Sky News that Rebecca, 29, from Stone, in Staffordshire, was diving on an organised tour with Spiranca Diving Centre in Sarande last September when she got into difficulties.
He said he was “stunned” when he was told about her death.
“We were sitting as a family watching the funeral of the Queen when there was a knock on the door, two policemen came in and said, ‘we’ve got to tell you that your daughter died in Albania’,” he said. “I haven’t even been able to cry yet, I haven’t been able to grieve.”
George has spent most of the past 12 months in Albania trying to find out what happened, and is now about to return.
‘I’ll never stop until I get justice’
Image: Rebecca Gannon died in Albania on her 29th dive
“It’s terrible, I’ve had no help from the Albanian government, I’ve had no help from the British government whatsoever,” he said.
“I’ve just been out there on my own fighting for my daughter with no help whatsoever and when I’ve tried to contact people they just won’t speak.
“It’s like the whole situation has been swept under the carpet and it never happened, but I’ll never stop, never, never stop, until I get justice”.
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Mr Gannon said Rebecca had wanted to complete 30 dives by the time she turned 30. The dive in Albania was her 29th, and her last.
He suspects that it took too long to rescue Rebecca, that her death could have been prevented, and that the spot where she died was only seven metres deep.
“She’d dived 25-30 metres and for her to die in only seven metres of water was disastrous,” he said.
Image: The Spiranca Diving Centre no longer appears to be operating. Pic: Spiranca Diving Centre
Spiranca ran diving trips in the Ionian Sea. The company no longer appears to be operating and one Albanian journalist told Sky News there had been an arrest.
Muhamed Veliu, from Top Channel TV, said: “The prosecutors charged the owner of this company, which provides scuba diving in Saranda, with breaching health and safety regulation of work.
“This is the only charge and basically he did put a surety of about £13,000 and he was released on bail.”
Mr Veliu said that under Albanian law the prosecutors have two years to conclude an investigation and decide whether to send a case to court.
“I do share the same concern with the family of Rebecca Gannon, not being informed about the speed and the stage of this investigation in Albania,” he said. “This is really a big shame for the Albanian justice system.
“Prosecutors in Albania unfortunately underestimate the importance to tell the family about the progress of the investigation, it is not like in the UK when a crime happened and police appoint a liaison officer to the family of the victim. Unfortunately, we do not have that in Albania.”
George, a former bakery owner, says it has cost him his life savings trying to fight for answers on behalf of his daughter.
The family has set up a crowd funding page on Just Giving to try to raise funds for their legal costs.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office in the UK said: “We are assisting the family of a British national who died in Albania and are in contact with the local authorities.”
Labour MP Dan Norris has been arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour Party upon being informed of his arrest.
“We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”
Police said a man in his 60s had been arrested on Friday on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl, rape, child abduction and misconduct in a public office.
Sky News has contacted Mr Norris for comment.
Mr Norris, 65, defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg to win the new seat of North East Somerset and Hanham in last year’s general election.
He has also lost the party whip in the House of Commons and has stepped down from his role as chair of the League Against Cruel Sports.
Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement: “In December 2024, we received a referral from another police force relating to alleged non-recent child sex offences having been committed against a girl.
“Most of the offences are alleged to have occurred in the 2000s, but we’re also investigating an alleged offence of rape from the 2020s.
“An investigation, led by officers within Operation Bluestone, our dedicated rape and serious sexual assault investigation team, remains ongoing and at an early stage.
“The victim is being supported and given access to any specialist help or support she needs.
“A man, aged in his 60s, was arrested on Friday (April 4) on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl (under the Sexual Offences Act 1956), rape (under the Sexual Offences Act 2003), child abduction and misconduct in a public office. He’s been released on conditional bail for enquiries to continue.
“This is an active and sensitive investigation, so we’d respectfully ask people not to speculate on the circumstances so our enquiries can continue unhindered.”
Mr Norris first entered Parliament when Tony Blair came to power in 1997 and served as the Wansdyke MP until 2010.
He was an assistant whip under Mr Blair and served as a junior minister under Gordon Brown.
Mr Norris has also been West of England mayor since 2021 but is due to step down ahead of May’s local elections.
A spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports, a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to end sports such as fox hunting and game bird shooting, confirmed he had stepped down from his role.
“The charity cannot comment further while an investigation is ongoing,” a statement said.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.
JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.
In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.
“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”
The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.
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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.
“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.
Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.
All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.
Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.
Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.
Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.
In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.
Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.
They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.
The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.
Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.
“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.