Any story of parents losing their children is, of course, distressing, but this seemed particularly shocking. Like most people, I was vaguely aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

I knew that it was the "silent killer", killing people while they sleep, crowding out the capacity of red blood cells to carry oxygen. But somehow I associated it with rundown housing.

This tragedy made me look again at the subject. The family had stayed in a four-star hotel. Surely we all expect our holiday accommodation to be safe? If we as tourists cannot relax on holiday, when are we entitled to peace of mind?

Some suggested that such a tragedy could not have happened in Britain, but in April 100 people were evacuated from a hotel in Newquay and one man died. It was only after paramedics arrived at the scene that anyone realised that carbon monoxide was to blame for his collapse.

Reliable figures on the number of people dying from carbon monoxide poisoning across Europe are hard to ascertain. CORGI, the gas safety watchdog, reports that there were 21 deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning in the UK between April 2007 and March 2008, but they believe that this number may be just the tip of the iceberg.

In France, where a test for carbon monoxide poisoning is compulsory in every post mortem examination, the number of deaths relating with carbon monoxide is much higher.

In August last year, the Yorkshire Post carried the terribly sad story of an elderly couple from Normanton who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in their own home. The emergency services were only alerted after a neighbour's carbon monoxide alarm went off and seemed to give a stronger signal near to the couple's house. The coroner said that without that alarm, the poisoning could have spread through the whole row of terraces.

The compulsory fitting of carbon monoxide detectors is certainly one way to cut deaths and injuries. A detector with an audible alarm costs under £30. They are even small enough to be portable in hand luggage, which is why the parents of Christi and Bobby Shepherd are now urging people to take them with them on holidays.

But should it be down to holidaymakers to look after their own safety? Surely hotels and holiday homes could be fitted with carbon monoxide detectors as a matter of course? In some American states, all hotel rooms must have a carbon monoxide detector. The French Senate is looking at similar proposals, but only in the housing sector. Good things are happening, but in a piecemeal way.

This is why I and colleagues are now investigating how we can get European-wide minimum safety standards for hotels. Last week, we organised an expert hearing in the European Parliament on hotel safety. Representatives from major hotel chains, tour operators, consumer watchdogs and Commission officials attended and agreed that carbon monoxide safety, along with fire safety, was a key issue that we need to tackle.

In the longer term, I would like to see an EU law on hotel safety, but getting agreement among governments and MEPs from 27 countries will take time. In the meantime, travel agencies and hotels could do much more.

The Federation of Tour Operators has a "preferred code of practice", and while there is reference in that document to gas safety measures, it does not include a requirement to fit carbon monoxide alarms if gas appliances are present. I will continue to press for this.

Secondly, the Federation of European Fire Officers is piloting a voluntary scheme of awarding a "safe hotel" star for hotels which meet safety standards with regards to fire safety. This could be extended to include carbon monoxide safety as well. Thomas Cook, backed by the UK Federation of Tour Operators, is undertaking a study due to report in November on different aspects of hotel safety including carbon monoxide safety.

Holidaymakers do not want to have to worry about anything when they go away, least of all carbon monoxide poisoning. If we are serious in saying that no family should endure heartache like the Shepherds, we need to be serious about giving them the protection that they deserve.


Linda McAvan is a Labour MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber.