UK family refused entry to New Zealand speak after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern calls for a review of the situation

A UK family refused entry to New Zealand on humanitarian grounds after their teenage son was killed in a speedboat accident, is speaking out for the first time since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that authorities would review the situation.

Barbara Genda, the mother of Eddie Jarman, 14, is speaking with Mike Hosking of Newstalk ZB this morning.

It comes after Ardern told the radio station on Monday that he requested a review of the decision to refuse family entry to New Zealand on his yacht.

“I had almost a slight hope that we would get it,” Genda said.

“I am grateful and hopeful that our case can really expose the plight of many.”

The family, including Genda’s husband, Henry Jarman, and their 13-year-old daughter Amelie Jarman, wanted to do it to sell their boat in hopes of returning home to the UK.

His son and brother Eddie were killed in a tragic accident on August 9, on Mo’orea Island, near Tahiti, when he was struck by a speedboat while checking an anchor.

The accident is currently the subject of a homicide investigation.

Henry Jarman acknowledged that they had not yet heard from any official about his case to enter the coast of New Zealand; saying they had only been told through second-hand sources.

“His prime minister has obviously mentioned it and … yes, we are hopeful.”

Since Ardern’s announcement on the radio earlier this week, the Health Ministry has confirmed that it is reviewing the family’s case “as a matter of urgency.”

The ministry said it is still working to finalize the options for the family, if any.

However, ministry officials had not yet contacted the family, as of yesterday.