Air India crash relatives say they have been 'completely abandoned'

Miten Patel wrote to the foreign secretary in September about the mishandling of his mum's remains in India

Relatives of victims in a fatal Air India plane crash say the Foreign Office has not responded to them, over a month after they called for "direct communication, not silence".

Miten Patel and Tom Donaghey wrote to the foreign secretary on 12 September demanding transparency about the mishandling of their relatives' remains.

Mr Patel claimed they "haven't even had an acknowledgement" from Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it "continues to provide support, including dedicated consular caseworkers" to families and is "in contact with the Indian authorities".

Ashok and Shobhana Patel - Miten's parents - died when their flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed shortly after take-off in June.

They were returning home to Orpington in Greater London.

Mr Donaghey's brother Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek - founder of The Wellness Foundry in Ramsgate, Kent and London - and Mr Greenlaw-Meek's husband Jamie were also among the 242 people on board the flight and died in the crash.

The family of Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek previously said they had received the incorrect body.

Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, left, was returning to the UK with his husband Jamie

Mr Patel and Mr Donaghey told the UK government in the letter they felt "completely abandoned".

Relatives felt that "our own government's not there to support us, which is very upsetting", Mr Patel said.

He and Mr Donaghey had asked the government to "demand a full and transparent account" from Indian authorities of how their relatives' remains were treated.

They requested "a clear timeline for answers" so they could "finally begin to grieve properly".

Other remains were found in Shobhana Patel's casket after her body was returned to the UK, her son says

Mr Patel previously told the BBC that Indian officials were yet to apologise after a UK coroner found "other remains" in his mother's casket.

The Indian government said in July that remains were handled "with due regard for the dignity of the deceased".

Mr Patel said: "You feel like you should have the support from your own government to help you get these answers, especially with the [prime minister's] visit that we had."

Sir Keir Starmer visited Mumbai for two days in October, where he met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

"I understand that there is a bigger agenda here but this should have also been on the agenda," Mr Patel said.

Sir Keir Starmer visited India to discuss the benefits of a recent trade agreement

The UK government should "at least ask the questions" of the Indian government, Mr Patel said.

"For us as average people, how are we supposed to go and ask the questions? We'll just get the door shut on us," he said.

According to the government, the crash was raised in bilateral meetings with Modi during the visit and in July.