London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Aug 11, 2025

UK govt mishandled cases of detainees in Iran: report

UK govt mishandled cases of detainees in Iran: report

A report by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee has criticized the UK government for its handling of the cases of several dual nationals detained by Iran, suggesting “significant suffering” was inflicted on detainees and their families.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were among a number of people arrested and jailed in Iran.

The report determined that the British government wasted numerous opportunities to secure their release.

The committee said fear of annoying the US and taking legal advice that was later dismissed were among the reasons why the Foreign & Commonwealth Office had proved “ineffectual” at retrieving Zaghari-Ratcliffe or Ashoori sooner.

It added that broader government disorder — marked by secrecy, lack of coordination and successive ministerial appointments — had hindered the FCO’s ability to operate effectively.

The report said in many cases, progress was only made in securing the release of detainees due to public pressure being brought against ministers.

It also found that the initial refusal to engage with Iran over the repayment of $500 million owed from a failed tank deal in the 1970s had actively hindered relations and negotiations over individual releases.

“We heard from a number of families in private that there was a significant trust deficit between them and the government, primarily brought about through poor communication and lack of transparency on the part of the government,” the report said.

“Families are frequently assured by officials and ministers that they are ‘doing all they can’ to secure the release of their detained family members. This is an inadequate response.

“To communicate standard diplomatic representations as substantive actions to families of detainees with little or no further detail is not conducive to a constructive and supportive working partnership.”

Two former foreign secretaries, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss — both of whom later served as prime minister — were named as having “let down” families while in post for making inaccurate statements about specific cases.

Truss was also heavily criticized for her behavior in the failed attempts to secure the release of US-UK-Iranian environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, who was set to be released alongside Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori but remains imprisoned in Iran.

After the terms of Tahbaz’s release changed, Truss “failed to let either the family or US officials know that Morad was not to be released,” the report said.

“Liz Truss eventually called the family to say that ‘Morad is now a US problem,’ implying that she would not put further effort into his release, and she did not have time to speak to them further.”

Another former foreign secretary, current Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, was criticized for wrongly saying Zaghari-Ratcliffe had received diplomatic protection from the government while in prison.

“This episode serves to illustrate an inconsistent and, at times, clumsy approach by the government,” the report said.

The committee’s chair, Alicia Kearns, described “ministerial clumsiness, serious and avoidable errors and even callous and hurtful comments to families” as having been mentioned repeatedly by victims’ families while describing their experiences.

Names of detainees were often misspelt or mispronounced by officials, Kearns said, and “for dual nationals their ‘Britishness’ too often, they felt, was in question.”

She added that “the most heinous failure of a minister” had been telling the Tahbaz family “you’re no longer our problem.”

An FCO spokesperson told The Guardian: “(UK) Consular officials are available 24/7 for families to receive tailored support. The foreign secretary and (FCO) ministers are fully engaged in complex cases and have raised concerns with foreign governments.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Duluth International Airport Running on Tech Older Than Your Grandmother's Vinyl Player
RFK Jr. Announces HHS Investigation into Big Pharma Incentives to Doctors
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Security flaws in a carmaker’s web portal let one hacker remotely unlock cars from anywhere
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
×