Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has urged Travelodge’s chief executive, Jo Boydell, to “seriously engage” with the government after she cancelled a meeting with MPs. In a letter, Sir Keir expressed his “very concerned” that some MPs had not heard directly from Ms Boydell, stressing the “incredibly important” need for lessons following an “utterly appalling” sexual assault at one of the chain’s hotels.
The incident involved a guest at a Maidenhead, Berkshire, Travelodge, who was sexually assaulted by a man given a key card to her room. Kyran Smith was jailed for seven-and-a-half years in February for the December 2022 attack. Smith, from Staines, Surrey, had lied to reception staff, telling them he was the victim’s boyfriend.
In his letter, the Prime Minister stated: “I welcome your recent meeting with several Members of Parliament, including the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, and the minister for victims and tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG). I was, however, very concerned that some MPs were not able to hear from you directly. I urge you to seriously engage with MPs and my Government to address the concerns that remain around best practice interventions for prevention, the training being made available and the pace of Travelodge’s response.”
Ms Boydell apologised to the victim in a statement earlier in March, adding the company had made changes to its door key policy. It is understood Travelodge has launched an independent investigation into its room security policies. Sir Keir welcomed the move but said: “This review should proceed at pace, with a confirmed timeline and a commitment to deliver the outcomes, so early findings can be acted upon immediately.”
The Government published its VAWG strategy in December, with the aim of halving this type of violence in a decade. In the letter, the Prime Minister said: “This is a personal mission for me: no woman or girl should feel unsafe in this country, or fear for their life. VAWG is a national emergency and, as such, demands that all of us take action to tackle it.”
