Britain warns of travel to Barbados

LONDON, March 23 (UPI) -- British officials have warned Britons against traveling to Barbados, citing the rapes of two British women that they allege were not properly investigated.

Member of Parliament Stephen McPartland said Barbados is "not a safe place" until local police investigate the 2010 rapes of Dr. Rachel Turner, of Hertfordshire and Diane Davies, of Anglesey, the BBC reported.

Turner and Davies were raped within days of each other while visiting the island in 2010. Police arrested and charged Barbadian Derrick Crawford, 47, with the crime, but both women testified that he was not their attacker. Barbadian officials have since stopped investigating the crime.

"I firmly believe that Barbados is not a safe place for British women to travel to as there is a rapist on the loose," McPartland said. "The police have failed to reopen the case and they have failed to get Rachel justice. The Foreign Office should update their travel advice and make it clear that Barbados is not a safe place to travel and warn British tourists to stay away. Maybe then, the authorities in Barbados will make the police reopen the case and find this rapist."

In response, a Barbados Tourism Authority spokesperson said: "May I reassure you that we take any incident very seriously. Barbados is a friendly and welcoming country with more than 250,000 British tourists each year, many of whom are repeat visitors. But, like every country in the world, some crimes will occur. Our absolute priority will continue to be the safety of our community and our visitors."