British father will ‘never stop’ fighting for answers after daughter’s death while diving in Albania
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’
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”.
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.
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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.”
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
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