I can't believe that could possibly true! It must be a misunderstanding?
Exactly what I thought! Surely there must be a way around it?
Did you right click the addressees box and add VFR addresses? This hsould have ensured that your flight plan was sent to the relevant FIRs, otherwise it will have only been sent to Departure, Destination and Alternate airfields.
The issue wasn't with the original FPL. After sending it we called LFAT and they confirmed that it had been received. The issue is with the DEP message.