The brothers of a hero British contractor killed by ISIS-backed terrorists in Africa have said he was ‘allowed to die’ as they accused a French energy giant of showing ‘contempt’.

Bill and Mark Mawer said they were ‘deeply disappointed’ by the outcome of Philip Mawer’s inquest after a coroner concluded the corporation had ‘no responsibility’ to ‘stage a rescue’ for Mr Mawer.

They said they still have unanswered questions after their ‘fantastic’ and ‘entertaining’ younger brother was killed in Mozambique.

Mr Mawer, 58, had ‘gallantly’ given up his space on a rescue helicopter insisting women and children were taken first after the coastal town of Palma in Mozambique was ambushed by militants from Al-Shabaab in March 2021 – leaving as many as 1,400 dead.

He had also refused a seat in an armoured vehicle to escape the Amarula Hotel instead choosing to take his own ‘soft-skin’ vehicle with two passengers in a convoy with others.

He died when the vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in March 2021.

The inquest at Winchester Coroner’s Court heard Mr Mawer, originally from Somerset, was working as a project manager for RA International, which was contracted to build workers’ accommodation for ‘the largest gas operation in Africa’, run by French multinational firm TotalEnergies.

TotalEnergies had been accused of hampering rescue efforts and refusing to provide fuel to a private firm contracted by the Mozambique government to fight the rebels and rescue survivors.

Hampshire coroner Jason Pegg ruled he did not have the evidence to find that corporations had any responsibility for evacuation.

But the brothers criticised the French energy giant for failing to fully explain why it refused to give fuel to Dyck Advisory Group [DAG], a private military contractor who had staged rescues from the besieged Amarula Hotel.

Mr Mawer’s brothers also criticised the firm for failing to send a representative to the inquest.

They said the lack of an in person witness on behalf of the company, which sent a short statement instead, was ‘disrespectful’.

The brothers said they believe there has not been ‘adequate scrutiny of the decisions and circumstances which left Mr Mawer and so many others at risk of their lives in the Amarula Hotel’. 

Total’s approach to the inquest ‘has shown contempt for the court, the family and the death of our brother Philip’, they added.

Philip Mawer in a photo provide by his brothers, who still have questions over his death in 2021

Pictured with the two dogs from the hotel which were airlifted to safety shortly before he died

Bill and Mark the brothers of Philip Mawer said he was ‘allowed to die’ as they accused a French energy giant of showing ‘contempt’

Bill, 68, is a retired businessman who spent five years in the Army before working in the defence and aerospace business, and Mark, 66, is a retired dentist.

They said Philip was a widower who threw himself into his work following the death of his wife, Heather. 

Bill said: ‘We were hoping for a different conclusion from the coroner. It feels like the companies’ damage limitation exercise has been to some extent a success.’

Mark said: ‘I want to say I feel battered and bruised by it.’

Bill continued: ‘We came here because we have been wanting to be heard. It’s been five and a half years.

‘Mark particularly did much of his own investigation.

‘We came in here already knowing how Philip died. We have known that for years.

‘We knew about the Amarula Hotel and what happened there. We knew about the ambush and that a terrorist fired a rocket at his car.

‘The conclusion we wanted to get would address the issues we were worried about: how could he get into the situation?

‘How could the project he was hired for be restarted when it’s dangerous on the ground?

‘Why did Total refuse to give fuel in that situation? Why was our brother allowed to die so close to such a secure compound and military force?’

Philip Mawer, 58, had been working on a project to construct a new gas field in Mozambique when Isis-linked terrorists attacked his hotel on March 24, 2021

TotalEnergies’ Mozambican subsidiary TEPMA1 was criticised during the inquest for refusing to give fuel to a private military contractor DAG, as well as blocking a rescue attempt by the SAS.

The inquest also heard that the hotel’s manager along with two dogs were rescued shortly before Mr Mawer was killed.

Barristers on behalf of Mr Mawer’s family argued that TEPMA1 had ‘assumed responsibility’ for the contractors’ safety by implying the area was safe. They failed that responsibility by refusing to provide fuel for rescue attempts ‘which would have saved his life’, it was said.

TEPMA1 have denied any such responsibility and that they could have saved Mr Mawer’s life.

Bill said: ‘We felt there was some degree of causality between the denial of fuel and the fact the rescue efforts stopped, and that’s what led to them leaving in an unsafe convoy.’

He added: ‘The man who was in charge of the operations on the ground and the helicopters was available to come into the inquest to give evidence but he wasn’t invited.

‘His evidence would have pointed to a much higher degree of causality.’

TEPMA1 denied having responsibility for Mr Mawer and said it could not release fuel to DAG because it had been linked to human rights abuses.

Bill said: ‘We know that Total, through the police, were happy to have DAG carry out survey flights and provide cover so they could evacuate from the beaches – we have that in the sitreps.

‘They said about what a terrible situation it was. I’ve heard recordings of the site at the time and it’s horrific.

‘And there was a lot of discussion in court about legal duty and maybe they didn’t have one. If someone falls into a pond do you have a legal duty to help them?

‘But for someone working on their project in that situation and they did nothing – it seems inhumane.’

The brothers said Total’s decision not to attend and send a statement instead ‘created an unfairness and imbalance in our view’.

‘We wanted to ask about fuel and to what extent people should or shouldn’t have been given but there was nobody we could question about it,’ Bill said. 

TotalEnergies declined to comment.