The matriarch of what is often referred to as ‘Britain’s largest family,’ known for having 22 children, has faced criticism following a social media outburst about her canceled holiday plans to Dubai. Her comments have been labeled as ‘tone deaf,’ particularly as the Middle Eastern conflict reaches its sixth day.
Sue Radford, 50, sparked outrage as she took to Instagram to share her grievances, revealing that her daughter and son had gifted her and her husband Noel a weekend away to the popular UAE city, and they were planning to fly on Wednesday.
The family’s travel plans were disrupted due to the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, which have seen ongoing strikes and left foreign nationals frantically trying to escape the affected areas.
In her social media post, she expressed frustration, asking, “Who else has been having a nightmare with TravelUp? I think many of you might be.” She noted that the company’s phone lines seemed to be inactive and that her email inquiries had gone unanswered. Her attempts to voice concerns on the company’s Instagram page were also thwarted as comments were removed, she claimed.
Sue, who has since received a response from the travel agency, acknowledged the safety of being in the UK. However, she highlighted the difficulty of rebooking, stating that the company was not addressing customer needs effectively.
She emphasized that her main issue was not the inability to reschedule the trip but rather the company’s lack of communication, stating, “This post isn’t about wanting to rebook. I imagine many others feel the same, but shutting off communication is not the solution.”
She stressed that ‘the point of this post is that we do not want to rebook I would imagine lots wouldn’t but this company switching phones off is not the way to go about it’.
However, commenters were still horrified by the post, as ‘people are dying’.
The mother of ‘Britain’s biggest family’, who has 22 children, has been blasted for a ‘tone deaf’ rant about her holiday to Dubai being cancelled – as conflict in the Middle East has entered its sixth day today
Sue Radford, 50, sparked outrage as she took to Instagram to share her grievances, revealing that her daughter and son had gifted them a weekend away to the popular UAE city, and they were planning to fly on Wednesday
‘Others are hiding in hotel rooms/basements,’ one continued. ‘And the rest are stranded with many fearing for their lives. Your holiday dues not matter right now.
‘Your refund/swap is not the priority. You should have travel insurance and be Atol/Abta protected – you’ll get your money. For now just sit tight and be.’
‘Maybe think of the people living out there right now,’ another added.
A third wrote: ‘All you can think about is holidays when there is a war on? Unbelievable.’
‘How insensitive to those who are currently fearing for their lives,’ another commented. ‘People have died, a war is going on and you’re moaning because you can’t book a holiday to Dubai??’
One also remarked: ‘Hmm very egocentric post this one is. Think off all the stranded people over there. Pfft!’
Others assured Sue ‘not to stress’ as it will ‘all get sorted’ and she is ‘safe here at home’.
One also suggested: ‘Oh no, I think you need to totally give up on Dubai. I’ve been there and to be honest, it’s so overrated, unless your rich people our age are just out of place there.
‘It really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Go to New York for 5 days it’s amazing we loved it.’
In the past year alone, Sue and her family enjoyed at least eight holidays to Lapland, Italy, the Caribbean, Florida, Paris – and indeed, Dubai.
The civilian race to escape the Middle East descended into farce today as British nationals were delayed from returning home when the UK’s first evacuation flight failed to take off from Oman.
Terrified passengers were said to be smashing on windows and having panic attacks as they sat helplessly on the plane on the tarmac in Muscat. One described the ordeal as a ‘total s***show’.
It had been scheduled to depart from the Omani capital at 11pm GST on Wednesday, but could not ‘due to the pilot’s hours clocking up’.
The Foreign Office this morning told the Daily Mail the flight failed to take off due to ‘technical issues’ but insisted it would take off later today.
General Sir Richard Barrons said that Britain’s relationship with the US would be strained because the UK had ‘not turned up when they asked in the way that they asked’.
And he said that Sir Keir’s slowness in responding to Iranian attacks on RAF Akrotiri and close to other assets in the Gulf States might leave them to ‘wonder if the UK actually has the muscle to apply in situations like this in the way that in former times we clearly did’.
He spoke to the BBC in the midst of furious political rows over Sir Keir’s reaction to Donald Trump’s decision to start a war with Iran.
The UK has refused to join in the assault on Tehran, though Sir Keir has allowed the US to use its bases in Britain for defensive operations.
