EU law breakthrough for mum of battered footballer (From This Is Local London)

EU law breatkthrough for victims' rights campaigner Maggie Hughes

7:50am Friday 27th May 2011 in News By Matt Watts

A mother whose son was left in a coma after he was attacked on holiday in Crete had a major breakthrough in her campaign to improve support for victims of crime abroad.

Maggie Hughes has been campaigning to improve victims’ rights since former Sutton United and Croydon Athletic player Robbie Hughes was left brain damaged in the attack in Malia in 2008.

Mr Hughes and his family said they were left without sufficient support from authorities in both Greece and from the UK following the attack.

But after a hard-fought campaign by the Sutton mum, EU citizens who suffer a crime in another EU country will in future get a standard level of support, under a draft law from the European Commission.

Mrs Hughes, who has been made a victims’ rights advocate after her campaign with union GMB, appeared with European Union Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding in Brussels last week when she proposed crime victims and their relatives be guaranteed a basic standard of rights, support and assistance, no matter in which of the bloc’s 27 countries the crime has taken place.

Victim support systems would be required in every EU country under the new laws.

Mrs Hughes said: “I’m absolutely over the moon.”