Their children, seven-year-old Jack and six-year-old Alice, who are reportedly completely unaware their father is dead, are living with their maternal grandparents in China
The parents of a British man who was murdered by his Chinese wife have asked the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to appeal to officials to let his children live with them in the UK.
Michael Simpson, 34, originally from Wimborne, Dorset, was stabbed to death by his estranged wife, Weiwei Fu, in Shanghai in March 2017. Earlier in July, she was sentenced to life in prison.
Their children, seven-year-old Jack and six-year-old Alice, who are reportedly completely unaware their father is dead, are now living with their maternal grandparents in China and have become the focus of a custody battle.
Ian and Linda Simpson, the children’s grandparents, want the siblings to move to the UK where they say they will have a better life and education.
A custody hearing in China is expected to take place in the coming weeks, and Simpson’s family want Hunt to intervene in the case during his visit this weekend to China.
Simpson said he had received assurances through a third party that the foreign secretary would raise the case during his visit. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has not yet responded to The Guardian ’s request to confirm this.
“If we leave them in China, we will probably never see or hear from Jack and Alice again. That’s why we need political support,” said Ian Simpson.
The grandparents had tried to reach a deal for custody of the children with their Chinese relations, but said Fu’s family had demanded £65,000 (US$85,241) and reneged on previous agreements.
