Anger at hotel leap case secrecy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/bristol/8078308.stm

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The Foreign Office has been accused of handling "disgracefully" the case of a man who leapt from a hotel balcony with his two children, one of whom died.

Plans for John Hogan's return to the UK have been concealed by UK officials, prompting the criticism from the step-father of his ex-wife, Brian Chandler.

Mr Hogan is due back in Bristol from a psychiatric unit, after the incident on the Greek island of Crete in 2006.

The British ambassador to Greece said Mr Hogan had "absolute" privacy rights.

David Landsman also told BBC News there would be no information forthcoming about exactly when Mr Hogan would return to the UK, because of consular confidentiality.

There are victims here to support as well as the perpetrator Brian Chandler, John Hogan's ex-father-in-law

However, Mr Chandler, Mr Hogan's former father-in-law, has said he has been infuriated because his family have not been kept informed.

Mr Chandler told the BBC the secrecy was not in the "public interest" and Mr Hogan's movements were a "matter of grave concern" for his step-daughter Natasha Visser and her family.

"There are victims here to support as well as the perpetrator," he added.

Mr Hogan's son, six-year-old Liam, died from head injuries he sustained in the incident, on 15 August 2006, but his daughter Mia, then two, survived the fall.

She is now living in Australia with Ms Visser, who has vowed to make sure Mr Hogan is allowed no contact with her.

Mr Hogan, 36, has been receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital in Athens since he was cleared last year of murder.

Liam Hogan died and his sister was badly injured in the fall

He has reportedly spoken of his desire to be reunited with his daughter.

In an earlier statement, Mr Chandler said the family had "great apprehension, but not surprise" at Mr Hogan's wish to contact Mia.

"He clearly has no idea how much damage and distress he has already caused to so many people's lives throughout two families," the statement said.

"Liam did not deserve to die at age six and neither did Mia deserve the ongoing traumatic nightmares and the deep sense of loss for her loving brother that she has endured.

"Why should [Natasha] live as a fugitive in the future, to ensure Mia's safety?"

Mr Hogan was found not guilty of murder on psychiatric grounds in January last year, after a Crete court upheld his defence that he had suffered an "earthquake of psychosis".

The Crown Prosecution Service has said no action will be taken against him in Britain.