A grieving couple whose son died in a Brazil police cell have been dealt a further blow in their fight for justice as they remember his 38th birthday.

Holidaymaker Neil Juwaheer, from Carshalton Beaches, died in the city of Fortaleza of an alleged drug overdose in 2007, but a new pathology report claims he was beaten to death.

Two days before his family prepared a Hindu ceremony to remember his birthday on Sunday June 13, Carshalton and Wallington MP Tom Brake met with Brazilian Ambassador to London Carlos Augusto Santos-Neves to ask him to intervene in the name of justice.

But Mr Santos-Neves told Mr Brake there was nothing he would do to help, leaving the family in the hands of the Foreign Office - who have been reluctant to assist - and that of the Brazilian authorities, which has been mired by reports of corruption.

Mr Juwaheer’s father Joe, 73, who owns Croydon care home Thornton Lodge, said: "By July this year it will be three years after Neil’s death and we have still got no where.

"We are struggling to get justice for our son with the Brazilian authorities and there is no way of really trusting them.

"We have worked for the Government, now they should be able to help us.

"We feel they should uphold the rights of us as citizens of this country.

"I am at an age when I should be retiring, but I keep going just because if I’m at home the thoughts of Neil will kill me."

Last year the one piece of evidence suggesting drug abuse was lost by Brazilian police.

It was later found, but the family’s lawyer, Marlon Cambraia, said he suspected the alleged cocaine wrap had been forged.

The family’s British lawyer Alan Larkin also met with opposition from the Foreign Office when he asked them to be present at the testing of the coccaine wrap and DNA taken from Mr Juwaheer’s parents, in order to authenticate the result.

Mr Brake said: “The Ambassador was very frank in setting out the UK Government’s responsibilities towards the Juwaheer family.

“I am now seeking an urgent meeting with the Foreign Office to discuss the support that the FCO should be providing.

“I have also asked the UK Government to clarify staffing levels within the UK Brazilian Embassy so I can establish how many diplomatic staff are available to assist UK citizens victims of crime abroad.”