Thomas Cook hires ex-Sainsbury's boss King for safety review

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - British holiday company Thomas Cook said former Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King would lead a review of its safety practices after two British children died during one of the firm's holidays.

The findings of King's independent review, which will also consider Thomas Cook (Xetra: A0MR3W - news) 's customer health, welfare, relations and crisis management policies, will be published in September, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Thomas Cook was at the centre of a media storm earlier this year over the deaths in Corfu in 2006 after an inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing from carbon monoxide poisoning at a hotel.

It was criticised for having been slow to apologise to the family and for receiving more in compensation for the deaths from the hotel on the Greek island than the children's parents.

King said the review would be key to improving Thomas Cook's relationships with customers.

"My objective is that it will be a key part of the Thomas Cook programme to put the customer back at the heart of the business, where they belong," he said.

($1 = 0.6499 pounds) (Reporting by Sarah Young)