'Our Simone died after drinking free shots on holiday'

BBC News

21-05-2025

Loved ones of a Kent woman who died from methanol poisoning are urging the government to do more to educate young people on the risks of drinking bootleg alcohol abroad.Twenty-eight-year-old Simone White, from Orpington, died in 2024 along with five others after consuming free shots they were offered at a hostel in Laos, south-east Asia.The MP for Dartford raised the issue in a debate in Parliament on Tuesday, calling for compulsory education on the issue in schools.Responding in the Westminster Hall debate, Foreign Office minister Catherine West paid tribute to Simone's family and thanked them for raising the profile of the issue.
She said the government was acting in response to the "tragic losses".
'It's got to stop'
Amanda Dennis, a family representative, said Simone had a "zest for life". "She was very well educated... [and] well-travelled. She was a lovely young lady, who had a lot more to live for." Ms Dennis added they initially thought the lawyer would pull through, but days later they were told by hospital staff there was "no hope" of survival. She said the family was "joining forces" with others who had lost loved ones in the same way."You can't have any more young people losing their lives unnecessarily," she said. "It's got to stop."
Speaking in Parliament, Dartford MP Jim Dickson praised the "courage" of Simone's family and others who were "fighting for justice" and "trying to raise awareness so that other families don't have to lose loved ones in the same tragic circumstances".In an interview with BBC South East, he said he was calling on the government to "increase the awareness among young people of a likelihood of methanol poisoning".He said he wanted the Foreign Office website to be "very, very clear" about the risk of bootleg alcohol in certain countries and that it "probably needs to do more"."Above all we think it should be in the school curriculum," said Ms Dickson. "Young people should be being taught from a very early age that methanol poisoning is a possibility... and how to take action to avoid it."
'More awareness needed'
Mr Dickson said there were a number of ways young people could distinguish between "drink that is ok and drink that might poison them", including avoiding "knock-off brands that are posing as mainstream brands".Kay Coleman, mother of Bethany who was poisoned along with Simone but survived, said they had started a petition for compulsory education on methanol poisoning in schools. "There needs to be more awareness," she said, adding that the "message [needs to get] across fully about the dangers" of drinking bootleg alcohol.A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos and we are in contact with the local authorities."Information on methanol poisoning in Laos is available on the Foreign Office website, they added.