UK 'too slow or unwilling' to call out countries guilty of taking hostages

Damning report by MPs calls for zero-tolerance approach to state hostage-taking

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Richard Ratcliffe attend a press conference after her release from detention in Iran. Getty Images

The government has been “too slow” or “entirely unwilling” to call out countries guilty of hostage-taking, says a damning report by MPs, which found the UK had failed to learn lessons in responding to citizens being detained illegally abroad.

The report says ministers have made a series of gaffes in parliament and in their dealings with the partners and relatives of those being held hostage overseas.

And it points out little progress has been made in improving communication with families, despite a 2019 document detailing steps that could have been taken.

It also says lessons must be learnt by the “highly regrettable” delay in paying a historical debt to Iran, which “almost certainly adversely affected the length of detentions of UK nationals”, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

The 'Stolen years: combatting state hostage diplomacy' report by the Foreign Affairs Committee was prompted by the release of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori last year.

Speaking on Radio 4 on Tuesday, chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Alicia Kearns said the government was often unwilling to call out hostage-taking.

"We need to recognise this is no longer a tactic of terrorists or perverse countries, this is becoming far too mainstream," she said.

"The reality is that abductor states are weaponising the citizenship of British nationals and they are arbitrarily and wrongfully detaining them to use them as diplomatic bargaining chips."

She also spoke about the case of Morad Tahbaz. In late July, the Foreign Office confirmed he had been released from jail in Tehran on an electronic tag.

Mr Tahbaz had been due for release at the same time as Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori last March but was allowed only to return to his mother’s home in the Iranian capital and days later was sent back to prison.

"There were real failures around the Morad Tahbaz case," she said.

"There are added complexities to his case in that he also has US citizenship.

"But our priority as a government right now has to be getting Morad home and I am incredibly concerned about his health."

Referring to former foreign secretary Liz Truss’s handling of the case, Ms Kearns told Times Radio “the most heinous failure of a minister” was to tell a family “you’re no longer our problem”.

Ms Truss did not stand by an arrangement agreed with US officials that UK-US-Iranian trinational Mr Tahbaz would be released alongside Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe in March last year, and failed to let his family know, according to the report.

“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,” MPs said.

There were also examples of ministers “getting the names of hostages wrong”, she said.

The report's release comes days after news of the detention of three Britons in Afghanistan by the Taliban: Kevin Cornwell, 53; an unnamed manager of a hotel for aid workers; and self-professed “danger tourist” Miles Routledge.

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Sunday said her government was holding talks after the three men were detained.

“The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure people's safety is upheld,” she said.

The committee report calls for a “zero-tolerance approach” to cases of state hostage-taking and arbitrary detention and says the government has been too slow to call it out and act.

It says: “We recommend the government uses the strongest possible language to call out situations of state hostage-taking as soon as it becomes clear detentions are being used for leverage.”

The report says data suggests state hostage-taking is an increasing problem globally.

“Arbitrary detention is also a growing phenomenon, increasing the likelihood of citizens in this position becoming pawns in state-to-state relations. All arbitrary detentions are illegal and unacceptable,” it says.

“The UK government should be working toward their immediate resolution. Given that states rarely make explicit their demands for release, or intended area of leverage, this zero-tolerance approach is all the more important.”

It points out the Foreign Office has been “too slow” to identify detentions of concern and to escalate these cases within the department.

It says there have been a number of examples where “ministerial communication has been plagued by inconsistency and clumsiness,” both in parliament and with affected families.

The report says families are frequently assured by officials and ministers that they are “doing all they can”, which the committee considers an inadequate response.

The committee calls for the creation of a new high-level role of "director for arbitrary and complex detentions” with a “direct line to the Prime Minister”.

That person would also provide a point of contact for families, convene a cross-government response, and co-ordinate the UK’s response to the multilateral efforts to address state hostage-taking and arbitrary detention with a “relentless focus”, it says.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori released – in pictures

The report concludes that the failure to pay a £400 million ($496.22 million) debt to Iran sooner is “highly regrettable” and almost certainly adversely affected the length of detentions of UK citizens. The debt dated back to the sale of 1,500 Chieftain tanks and 250 repair vehicles to the shah of Iran in the mid-1970s.

The UK suspended diplomatic relations with Iran following the Islamic Revolution of 1979 having only provided 185 tanks, and refused Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s regime a refund of £450 million for the undelivered part of the order.

The UK eventually agreed to settle last year as part of the terms of the release of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori.

Ms Kearns said the government’s approach to state hostage-taking was “failing” British citizens.

“Detainees and their families report ministerial clumsiness, serious and avoidable errors, and even callous and hurtful comments to families,” she said.

“Our report calls for families to be treated as partners who have the potential to be instrumental in attempts to resolve the detentions — they should not be viewed as adversaries or inconveniences.

“When working to bring our people home, time is truly of the essence. Swift and effective diplomacy can prevent a prolonged, painful and often dangerous detention. No action should be off the table and today’s report encourages the government to be more bold in the measures used, including sanctions and legal proceedings.”

Last year, the Taliban freed a veteran TV cameraman and four other British citizens they had been holding for six months.

Peter Jouvenal was one of a “number” of Britons the UK government said had been held by the hardline Afghan regime.

The UK Foreign Ministry said the five “had no role in the UK government's work in Afghanistan” and had travelled to the country against the official advice.

“This is a mistake,” it added.