BA settles with sex abuse victims

British Airways has agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to children who were sexually abused by one of its pilots in East Africa. BBC News reports that Simon Wood took his own life in August 2013, 11 days before he was due to appear in a UK court charged with abuse in Africa and the UK. Lawyers claimed the airline is responsible because the alleged victims were assaulted by Wood while he was on stopovers. He allegedly molested girls between the ages of five and 13 in schools and orphanages in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania between 2003 and 2013, law firm Leigh Day said in July 2014. ‘Though we do not bear any legal responsibility for Simon Wood's actions, we recognise the impact they had on his victims and the distress and suffering they caused,’ BA said in a statement.