The Foreign Secretary said the safety of British nationals overseas is a “top priority” for the UK Government after facing criticism from Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband.
Richard Ratcliffe, who fought a public campaign that involved two hunger strikes to have his wife freed from Iran, accused Foreign Office ministers of “refusing” to treat the issue of international hostage-taking seriously after it rejected recommendations designed to improve its response.
But James Cleverly, asked about Mr Ratcliffe’s remarks, said ministers act with the “best interest of the individuals at heart” and offered a “tailored” approach to dealing with detentions by hostile states.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a dual British-Iranian national, was detained in Iran for six years after being accused of crimes against Tehran’s government in 2016.
It will always be a priority to make sure that British nationals are safe overseas— James Cleverly, Foreign Secretary
The Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC), in its April report Stolen Years: Combatting State Hostage Diplomacy, condemned the Government’s handling of her case and that of British-Iranian dual national Anoosheh Ashoori.
The cross-party panel of MPs suggested after its inquiry that ministers create the post of director for arbitrary and complex detentions to aid its handling of international arrests of British nationals abroad.
But the Commons committee said ministers had rejected the recommendation.
Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chairwoman of the committee, has written to Mr Cleverly, stating that she found his department’s response “disappointing” and “defensive”.
In a joint response from Mr Ratcliffe and the family’s local Labour MP, Tulip Siddiq, the pair said elements of the Foreign Office’s response to the report were “utterly confounding and insulting”.
They said it “beggars belief” that, after Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s experience in Tehran and the committee’s probe, the Government was “still refusing to take the issue seriously”.
Mr Cleverly, however, defended the approach of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office when asked about the criticism directed at it on Thursday.
The Tory politician told PA news agency: “The UK takes as a top priority the safety of British nationals overseas, when people are in detention and with consular support.
“We act with professionalism and always with the best interest of the individuals at heart.
“That means that our response will always be tailored to the circumstances that we see, but it will always be a priority to make sure that British nationals are safe overseas.”
In its response to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr Cleverly’s department ruled out establishing a dedicated official to deal with the international imprisonment of British citizens by hostile states.
It also denied that ministerial churn had delayed the resolution of state hostage-taking cases.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe questioned, upon her return to the UK, why it took five foreign secretaries more than six years to bring her home, with Liz Truss heading up the Foreign Office at the time of her release in 2022.
