Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was 'hard to imagine' how parents must feel after losing their children in horror tragedies in the water during the recent heatwave
17:08, 18 Jun 2026 Updated 21:55, 18 Jun 2026
Keir Starmer has thrown his weight behind the Mirror’s water safety campaign after a number of "deeply concerning" water-related deaths in recent weeks.
The Prime Minister said “it’s hard to imagine” how parents must feel after losing their children in water tragedies in the recent heatwave . 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.
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.
“I just feel so profoundly for the family and friends of those who lost their lives, really feel it's hard to imagine what it must be like to lose a child in that way, and there were quite a number of them as well. I was quite struck by that.
“So, I think, yeah, whatever we can do to support your campaign and to take any such further measures as we can to keep everybody safe, but I think particularly it was the children that unfortunately lost their lives that probably affected all of us.”
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. It 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.
Our campaign is named after 16-year-old son Sam Haycock, who drowned in Ulley Reservoir in Rotherham, South Yorks, on his last day of school in 2021.
Sam's dad, Simon Haycock, told the Mirror: "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.
"There really seem to be a real hunger for it and we have to get Sam's Law through."
The Mirror wants Britain to treat drowning as the national emergency. Our campaign is asking the Government to launch an urgent public awareness campaign ahead of the summer holidays which includes lifesaving advice such as to avoid diving into the water and information on cold water shock.
We are also demanding compulsory lessons in schools ahead of the holidays 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. This newspaper wants it to be made an aggravated criminal offence to damage or steal this safety equipment. Our campaign also demands water companies and those in control of high risk large water bodies ‘do the right thing’ by bringing in the correct safety equipment.
Finally, a Minister for Water Safety should be appointed in England, as they have in Wales and Scotland, as drowning must be accepted as a preventable public health issue.
Lee Pitcher, MP 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."
Mr Pitcher, who is working with the Mirror to save lives, 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."
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 our campaign.
Olympic legends Becky Adlington and Tom Dean, and elite swimmer and TV presenter Michael Gunning have also given it their backing.
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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.
These i…
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