Prime Minister Keir Starmer has backed the Mirror’s water safety campaign after a number of “deeply concerning” water-related deaths in recent weeks. He said it was “hard to imagine” how parents must feel after losing their children in water tragedies during the recent heatwave.
PM Vows Government Support
Speaking to the Mirror at the G7 summit, Mr Starmer said: “Look, let me firstly back your campaign. I think just seeing and hearing of those fatalities during the heatwave, the hot weather, was really deeply concerning, and as a dad with two kids, particularly when it involves children or young people, it's really hard I think for all of us to see.” He vowed the Government would do “whatever we can” to support the Mirror’s Save Lives for Sam campaign and take any further measures to keep people safe.
Campaign Urges Action
The Mirror is calling on the government to take urgent action to stop the deaths of 33 children – the size of a school class – in open water nationwide every year. This comes after 19 children and adults died in water-related incidents in one week during the record-breaking heatwave from May 24 to 31. Thirteen of those killed were children and six were adults, including a 19-year-old. Concerns have been raised that more people could lose their lives before the summer holidays, with temperatures set to soar over the next week.
Sam's Law and Further Demands
The campaign is named after 16-year-old Sam Haycock, who drowned in Ulley Reservoir in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on his last day of school in 2021. Sam's dad, Simon Haycock, said: “I'm overwhelmed with the size of the campaign. I'm in awe. I can't believe it. The Government acknowledging they have to do something, leaves me overwhelmed. But now they have to do something quickly before any more tragic accidents happen.”
The Mirror wants Britain to treat drowning as a national emergency. The campaign asks the Government to launch an urgent public awareness campaign ahead of the summer holidays, including lifesaving advice such as avoiding diving into the water and information on cold water shock. It also demands compulsory lessons in schools on how to survive if you get into difficulty in the water.
The Government should also bring in ‘Sam’s Law’ to make it a legal requirement for safety equipment to be installed around high-risk large bodies of water. The newspaper wants it to be an aggravated criminal offence to damage or steal this safety equipment. The campaign also demands water companies and those in control of high-risk large water bodies ‘do the right thing’ by bringing in correct safety equipment. Finally, a Minister for Water Safety should be appointed in England, as in Wales and Scotland, as drowning must be accepted as a preventable public health issue.
Cross-Party Support
Lee Pitcher, Labour MP for Doncaster East and Isle of Axholme, said: “I am deeply grateful to the Prime Minister for backing this campaign. A Prime Minister's words always carry real weight behind them, and for him to speak so personally, and to commit to doing whatever he can to support our work, means a great deal to me, to Simon Haycock, and, I am sure will be welcomed by every family who has lost a loved one in our waterways.” He added: “My only ask is that we now adopt Sam's Law in full. We have the cross-party support, we have the public behind us, and we now have the backing of the Prime Minister. There is no reason to wait. Let's get this done and start saving lives.”
Widespread Backing
The Royal Lifesaving Society UK, The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the Black Swimming Association, The National Water Safety Forum, the RNLI and Swim England all support the campaign. Olympic legends Becky Adlington and Tom Dean, and elite swimmer and TV presenter Michael Gunning have also given it their backing.
A shocking report by the Royal Life Saving Society UK this week showed almost nine in ten drownings involving children could have been prevented. In 87% of cases reviewed by a Child Death Overview Panel, ‘modifiable factors’ were identified that could have prevented the child’s death, including lack of adult supervision, unsafe environments, accessible water, and absence of safety measures.
