John Harris, the head of the cabin crew, now retired, said he could not get the defibrillator because his responsibility at that stage of the flight was to cover the plane’s front door in case of an emergency.
Natasha’s mother, Tanya, and 14-year-old brother, Alex, held their heads in their hands as Harris said: “Without wishing to sound harsh, covering the front door is a priority.”
Mario Ballestri, crew manager, said the defibrillator was not offered because by the time Natasha was in cardiac arrest, it was time for crew to take their seats for landing.
From the grauniad article posted above.
Covering the front door is "a" priority, certainly. However, in this case you have a girl who is clearly at imminent risk of death. A quick risk assessment should surely have been able to determine that the risk of an emergency requiring an evacuation was extremely low, whereas the risk of the girl dying without continued medical intervention was extremely high.
As a captain, I wouldn't expect the cabin to be "secure for landing" as per SOP, as this was clearly not a "standard" situation. I'd expect the cabin crew to carry on their resuscitation efforts throughout landing and taxi in.
I'm afraid I don't think that the BA crew in question are coming out of this very well at all.