Heartbroken mum pledges to fight for justice for Worksop-born journalist who died with partner in Scottish hotel fire

Simon Midgley, aged 32, was on a winter break with 38-year-old boyfriend Richard Dyson when the blaze engulfed their five-star hotel in Loch Lomond in December 2017.

‘Amazing’ Simon, who attended Portland School, had been running his own PR firm and working as a freelance journalist for the Evening Standard.

Two weeks ago, Kevin McLoughlin, a senior coroner in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, ruled that the couple were unlawfully killed.

Cameron House Hotel admitted breaches of fire safety regulations after it was discovered that the blaze broke out when night porter, 35-year-old Christopher O’Malley, placed a plastic bag containing ashes in a cupboard.

The hotel was fined £500,000 with O’Malley ordered to carry out 300 hours of community service.

It’s not enough for Simon's heartbroken mum, Jane Midgley, who said her life has been ‘destroyed’ by the deaths of ‘her boys’.

Mrs Midgley said she was ‘angry and upset’ to hear there will be no Fatal Accident Inquiry into Simon and Richard’s deaths and has pledged to keep campaigning for one to take place.

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The Crown Office has said an FAI is not needed because the circumstances of how the two men had died had been determined.

Mrs Midgley said: “I used to hear people say my heart's broken and think, what do you mean by that? My god, I now know what it means to be heartbroken."There'll never be enough justice for my boys, but I won't give up fighting."I will be challenging this decision for Simon and Richard.

"It's critical I do that in order to prevent more lives being lost. I don't want any other family to suffer like we have."

A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said once a request for a review of the decision not to hold an FAI had been received, it would be conducted by Crown Counsel with no previous involvement in the matter.

It also said the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service would "highlight the investigation and the tragic outcomes" to the accommodation sector.

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