SNP MP Hannah Bardell has called on the UK government to “radically improve” the support it provides for the families of UK nationals that die abroad.

Her plea comes on the day a new BBC documentary will be screened on the tragic death of her constituent Kirsty Maxwell.

The MP for Livingston, and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Deaths Abroad and Consular Services, said the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is “failing families” who are facing additional anxiety and stress due to inadequate information and support.

READ MORE: ‘They’re both gone’ - Dad’s heartbreak as wife dies with no closure over son’s unsolved killing on Spanish stag do

She said: “Too often families searching for truth and justice are instead getting inadequate information and support from the UK Foreign Office – leading to additional stress and anxiety at what is already a deeply traumatic time.”

“The tragic death of Kirsty Maxwell, who was killed in Benidorm last year, has shone a light on the unacceptable barriers that families are currently facing. Like the family of Julie Pearson, another constituent of mine who was killed abroad, Kirsty Maxwell’s family have been very badly let down.

“Bereaving families in a state of shock and grief often have to deal with multiple agencies, and fight to get even the most basic facts about the circumstances of their loved ones deaths - it is simply not good enough.”

‘Killed Abroad’ will be screened tonight at 9pm on BBC1.