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The UK foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, is being urged to push US authorities to reopen an investigation into a man who shot dead his 23-year-old British daughter while she was visiting him in Texas.
Lucy Harrison, from Warrington in Cheshire, was fatally shot on 10 January 2025, the day before she was due to fly home to the UK.
Her father, Kris Harrison, who admitted holding the pistol at the time, has never been arrested.
A Texas grand jury decided not to prosecute the telecoms executive, originally from Liverpool, last year after what Lucy’s family described as an “inadequate” police investigation.
Earlier this year, the senior coroner for Cheshire ruled that Lucy had been unlawfully killed and that Harrison’s actions amounted to gross negligence manslaughter.
Lucy’s mother, Jane Coates, on Monday wrote to Miliband urging him to press the US authorities to reopen the investigation into her former husband, in light of the coroner’s findings.
She wrote: “I understand that the British government cannot interfere in the American justice system or direct US prosecutors to take a particular course of action.
“However, the Foreign Office can use appropriate diplomatic channels to draw attention to the coroner’s conclusion, raise the serious concerns surrounding the original investigation and ask the relevant US authorities to review the case.”
A number of UK politicians, including the former justice secretary Robert Buckland, are also urging Miliband to intervene.
Buckland said on Monday: “This is such a terrible situation for Lucy’s family and there are serious questions here that must be answered. This case must be reopened in the US.
“The new foreign secretary, lord chancellor and, indeed, prime minister should pursue this for those grieving for someone who left us at such a young age and in the most appalling of circumstances.”
Harrison, a telecoms executive, had bought a pistol for $500 (£370) from a colleague two years before Lucy’s death. Gun owners over the age of 21 are not required to obtain training or a licence in Texas, one of the most firearms-friendly US states.
An inquest in Cheshire was told that Lucy had expressed concern to friends about her two younger siblings being in the house with her father’s Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol.
It also heard that the pair had an argument about Donald Trump in the hours before the fatal shooting, although Lucy’s family say this is not why she was shot.
Despite an officer smelling alcohol on Harrison’s breath, he was not breathalysed. During his police interview, a Texas ranger explained to Harrison that the “gun would only discharge if the trigger was pressed”, according to a report released to the UK inquest. “Kris said ‘OK’,” it noted. Yet authorities said they were unable to arrest Harrison because they could not prove intent.
Sarah Hall, the Labour MP for Warrington South who has raised the case in parliament, said the Foreign Office should also address why the family was not given “adequate support” from the UK government after Lucy’s death.
In her letter to Miliband, Coates said: “I must also express my disappointment at the response we received from the previous administration. There was no meaningful action to help us seek justice.
“The formation of the new government under Andy Burnham has given us renewed hope. We have been struck by the prime minister’s determined tone, and by his emphasis on taking action and getting things done. We sincerely hope that this approach will extend to Lucy’s case.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Our thoughts remain with Jane and her family for the tragic loss they have suffered, and we will always look to learn lessons from cases such as this one to improve the consular support we offer to other families in the future.”
