Thomas Cook wins fake sickness case

Travel company Thomas Cook says it has won a legal victory against a fake holiday sickness claim and plans to challenge other such claims in court. It comes after a family tried to win up to £10,000 in damages for food poisoning on a trip to the Canary Islands. A judge at Liverpool County Court dismissed the case on Monday after concluding they were not sick.

Speaking after the hearing in Liverpool, Thomas Cook managing director Chris Mottershead said the company would “not accept liability” in such cases. “It’s not comfortable for us to be in court questioning our customers’ credibility, but the significant increase in unreported illness claims being received by the travel industry threatens holidays for all UK customers,” he said.