THE brother of a man accused of carrying out a massacre in Africa says his family is frustrated with the pace of diplomatic efforts to release him.

David Simpson, 24, of Gillamoor, has been held in jail in the Central African Republic for two months since reporting finding the bodies of 13 mutilated gold mineworkers as he was clearing a route through undergrowth in his role as manager for a game hunting company.

At a meeting in Whitehall on May 21, Mr Simpson’s brother, Paul, 22, and father, Pete, were told the Foreign Office would wait until a week after the republic’s authorities decided whether to prosecute Mr Simpson, before increasing pressure. Mr Simpson was charged with mass murder days later. But his brother says nothing has happened since and they are getting frustrated.

“The Foreign Office is just sending letters to the Central African ministers, saying ‘We are watching you very closely on this’ and they don’t care.

“The Foreign Office say they can’t interfere with the legal processes of another country, but there is no legal process in that country. David knows the way the Central African Republic people think and he says just a two-minute, informal phone call from David Cameron or someone like William Hague would sway it.”

The Foreign Office reissued an earlier statement, saying it had pressed the CAR authorities for assurances that legal process would be followed. Consular staff have visited Mr Simpson regularly and are in frequent contact with him and his family, the Foreign Office says.