Select committee: Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 31
Sixth Report - Stolen years: combatting state hostage diplomacy
Published 4 Apr 2023
Paragraph 91
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Foreign Affairs Committee The FCDO’s approach to state level hostage situations All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The FCDO’s failure to have maintained robust travel advice on the front page of the website for Iran between 2016 and 2018 is a significant error which may have made UK nationals less safe in Iran and likely other countries too. We welcome the renewed commitment in the “Consular and Crisis Strategy” to making travel advice readily available and renewed campaigns to make travellers aware of it. However, there is more the FCDO could do, either directly or via third-party experts, to ensure organisations and individuals operating in high-risk countries are aware of times of particular vulnerability, steps to take to prevent arrests for minor infringements escalating and how to keep safe.
From: Foreign Affairs Committee, Sixth Report - Stolen years: combatting state hostage diplomacy (HC 166), paragraph 91, 4 April 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 6 July 2023 (deadline 4 June 2023).