Bournemouth beach death: Tobias Ellwood calls for clarity

These are the words of Tobias Ellwood – the MP for Bournemouth East.

The Tory politician has said the public ‘needs to be kept informed so they can determine their own conclusions as to what happened’.

It comes after the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said it will not be investigating the tragic events surrounding the deaths of Joe Abbess, 17, and Sunnah Khan, 12, on May 31.

Mr Ellwood told the Echo he hopes the MAIB will share the findings of its preliminary assessment.

He said: “When there’s a multi-agency response to a serious incident in a public space it is so important that a single agency takes ownership to keep the public informed to avoid speculation and for peace of mind, in this case, that the beach in general remains safe - I think that is the major lesson to learn here.”

The Tory politician added that he hopes an investigation provides “clarity” to members of the public.

He said: “When you’re dealing with thousands of people on our beaches every day in the summer, we do require the peace of mind to place into context any tragedy or any incident that takes place so that parents can be aware and better advised on how to handle any conditions or threats posed by the sea.”

Mr Ellwood previously slammed Dorset Police for failing to communicate with the public about what happened and that this had led to "wild speculation on social media".

A spokesperson for the MAIB said: "Having conducted a thorough preliminary assessment of the circumstances of this tragic accident the MAIB has decided that no formal investigation will be launched."

When asked why, they added: "This was a truly tragic accident but our understanding of the circumstances is that it did not involve a vessel and therefore is not something the branch would investigate."

As previously reported, BCP Council has put a halt to all boat operations from the pier "as a precaution".