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.”
A pilot has died after a Spitfire crashed in a field near an RAF base in Lincolnshire.
Emergency crews were called to the scene on Langrick Road in Coningsby following reports the plane went down shortly before 1.20pm.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “It is with great sadness that we must confirm the death of an RAF pilot in a tragic accident near RAF Coningsby today.
“The pilot’s family have been informed and we ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.”
Lincolnshire Police said the male pilot was the “sole occupant of the aircraft” and he died at the scene/
“Police are not in a position to confirm his name but his next of kin have been informed,” a force spokesperson said.
“Nobody else is thought to have been injured as a result.”
An investigation into the cause of the crash is under way.
It has been reported the Spitfire was taking part in a Battle of Britain memorial event.
RAF Coningsby is home to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, a collection of wartime fighter and bomber aircraft that take part in air shows and memorial displays.
The RAF said it was “working with the emergency services and supporting those involved”.
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Road closures are in place in the areas of Dogdyke Road and Sandy Bank.
Motorists have been asked to avoid the area and seek alternative routes.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it was aware of the incident but it was not involved as it was a military investigation.
Music star Nicki Minaj has been arrested at an airport in the Netherlands hours before she was due to perform at Co-op Live in Manchester.
The American rapper was detained at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on suspicion of possession of soft drugs.
Minaj posted a series of messages on the social media site X – including one message in which she wrote “they said they found weed”.
She also claimed “they took my luggage without consent” and “they’re trying to keep me from MANCHESTER”.
The messages also included one where she wrote: “This is Amsterdam btw, where weed is legal.”
The star also filmed what appeared to be an airport official asking her to have her luggage checked.
Minaj later wrote: “It’s a 45 minute to an hour flight. So they’re probably trying to stall for about 4 hours.”
And she added: “Now they said I have to go 5 mins away to make a statement about my security to the police precinct.”
She has not posted on X since.
Asked about Minaj, Robert van Kapel, a spokesman for the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, told Sky News’ partner network NBC News: “We can confirm that we have arrested a 41-year-old American woman at Schiphol Airport because of possession of soft drugs.”
It is unclear if Minaj’s show at Co-op Live has been affected.
A post on the venue’s X account said shortly after 5.15pm: “Please note that general admission and premium doors for tonight’s Nicki Minaj show will now open at 19:00.”
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The beleaguered Co-op Live arena in Manchester – the UK’s largest indoor entertainment venue – finally opened earlier this month after it was plagued by a series of problems.
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UK
Mother of Jools Sweeney, 14, who took his own life is fighting social media companies for his search history
A bereaved mother who has “absolutely no idea” why her son took his own life aged 14 is fighting social media companies to hand over his search history.
Jools Sweeney was found dead in April 2022. A coroner was unable to rule his death was a suicide as they were unable to prove he was in a “suicidal mood”, his mother Ellen Roome tells Sky News.
Ms Roome says he showed no signs of depression and police have ruled out any third-party involvement.
As a result, she says she has been left with “absolutely no idea why he isn’t here anymore”.
Having read about other teenagers taking their lives after viewing harmful content online, Ms Roome asked various social media companies for her son’s browsing history to shed light on why he died.
Ellen Roome and her son Jools Sweeney (right). Pic: Ellen Roome
But she says: “Since my son’s death, I have not been able to access information to see what my son was looking at that could have contributed to him taking his own life.
“Parents should have the right to full access to their child’s social media accounts either whilst they are still alive (to protect them) or if they die as in my case.”
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She launched a petition to have the issue debated in parliament. But in light of the general election on 4 July, all parliamentary petitions will be automatically closed on 30 May.
This leaves her with just days to reach her 100,000-signature target.
She tells Sky News: “It’s very ambitious but I need 85,000 signatures to hit my target which might give me access to Jools’s information to find out why he died.”
Asked about the impact of her son’s unexpected death, she adds: “It’s impossibly hard, it’s horrific, it consumes me.
“I have to try the only thing we haven’t tried and that is social media.
“It might not be that. But I don’t see why social media companies wouldn’t let me see if they’ve got nothing to hide.”
Pic: Ellen Roome
Quarter of children addicted to devices
A recent House of Commons Education Committee report suggested there has been a 52% increase in children’s screen time between 2020 and 2022, with a quarter said to be using their devices in an addictive manner.
MPs on the committee said that while the Online Safety Act will play a role in keeping children safe from online harms, full protection will not come until the Act is fully implemented in 2026.
They suggest the next government should ban all under-16s from having phones.
The 14-year-old took his own life in 2022. Pic: Ellen Roome
Pic: Ellen Roome
Ms Roome said: “I think there’s a bigger issue than banning outright under-16s.
“Because they still have access to other devices. That is a bigger problem. We need to control what’s on those devices. It’s shocking about what a child can see these days.”
Online safety campaigner Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter Molly took her own life after viewing harmful material, said such a ban would “cause more harm than good” and would “punish children for the failures of tech companies to protect them”.
“The quickest and most effective route to protect children’s online safety and wellbeing is to strengthen the Online Safety Act in the next parliament and we call on all parties to commit to this in their manifestos,” he said.
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Ms Roome adds: “Companies need to step up and stop waiting for the bill to make some changes.”
She describes her son as “entirely beautiful” and a “really polite young man”.
“I’m appealing to anybody out there to kindly share my petition. I want this debated in parliament. Parents need the right to be able to protect their children.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
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