My son might still be alive if embassy staff had listened: Socialite's fury after her boy is drugged and left to die in Moscow

The grieving mom of a younger Briton who froze to demise in Russia after being drugged and robbed by a taxi driver has attacked the International Workplace for failing to assist when he went lacking.

Writer Fiona Scott Lazareff informed The Mail on Sunday that her son Nicolas might need been saved if British Embassy workers in Moscow had acted extra shortly to liaise with the Russian police and authorities.

The Manchester College graduate, 22, went lacking after an evening out along with his youthful brother Alexei, 21, within the Russian capital.

The brothers, each fluent Russian-speakers, had been picked up by a rogue cab driver who drugged them with spiked beer earlier than robbing them of their cash and cell phones. He then dumped them in sub-zero temperatures in a village close to Moscow.

Alexei managed to flag down a passing automotive. However whereas he was speaking with the automotive's driver, a closely disorientated Nicolas disappeared.

Nicolas Lazareff pictured along with his mom Fiona at Royal Ascot final yr

The driving force then took Alexei again to central Moscow the place he started desperately looking for assist to seek out his brother. Nicolas was discovered useless by Russian police a number of days later.

Now Mrs Lazareff, from Battersea, South London, is asking for an pressing overview of International Workplace procedures when coping with lacking folks and emergencies.

'After I phoned the embassy in Moscow, all I obtained was reply machines as a result of it occurred out of hours,' she stated. 

'Ultimately anyone rang me from London and prompt I reported him lacking to Battersea police station. I believed, "Is that this a joke?" '

Mrs Lazareff has additionally launched a marketing campaign to encourage folks travelling overseas to register their cellular phone's particular person IMEI quantity with the British Consul within the nation they're visiting, so lacking individual's actions could be tracked sooner.

Tory MP Jane Ellison has taken up her trigger and written to the International Workplace calling for an pressing overview and for the IMEI registration scheme to be arrange instantly.

Nicolas pictured along with his twin sister Natasha, his mom, and his brother Alexei

Mrs Ellison criticised officers for 'compounding Mrs Lazareff's misery with insufficient help' and failing to 'work together with investigating police forces'. Mrs Lazareff added: 'Because the clock was ticking, my son was on the market in the midst of nowhere.

'Perhaps if the International Workplace had been extra proactive and there was an IMEI register, he may have been discovered.

'As a substitute, the embassy appeared to imagine he was a younger lad out having a great time and that he would flip up.

'Afterwards, though the ambassador knew about Nick's tragic demise, he didn't even ship a letter of condolence.

'All I obtained was a typical template e-mail saying if I needed to make a criticism to click on on a hyperlink.

'It was so heartless – like complaining about defective broadband.

'Nothing will deliver my treasured son again however I don't need his loss to be in useless – no mom ought to need to undergo what I'm struggling in the mean time.'

A International Workplace spokesman stated final night time: 'We supplied help, through our workers in London and Moscow, to the household of a twin British nationwide who was reported lacking after which sadly died in Moscow. 

'We lengthen our sympathies to his household at this tough time.'

 

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