Improve access to British consulates

Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine has presented a Bill in Parliament to give British citizens a legal right to access assistance from consulates abroad. 

The new law would see anyone under threat of torture, denial of access to legal representation, or other human rights abuses abroad given a right to access advice or support from the local British consulate. 

Christine has met several times with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was falsely imprisoned in Iran for six years as part of a dispute between Iran and the United Kingdom.        

Other high-profile cases such as the imprisonment of Jagtar Singh-Johal, who has been detained in India since 2017 without charges being presented to his lawyers, have drawn attention to this lack of rights in law. 

Christine hopes this Bill will prevent cases like these in future, and make existing issues easier to resolve. 

She said: “I met Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after her release and I found her strength and fight for her freedom an inspiration. 

“During her imprisonment, I also spoke to her husband Richard many times, and it is wholly unacceptable that British citizens are not entitled to help from their consulate in these situations. 

“It should not take a hunger strike by family and friends, or media attention and speeches from MPs just to get the Government to pay attention to these human rights violations. 

“Every citizen who is denied their human rights or falsely imprisoned abroad deserves this support. 

“I hope this Bill will finally end these awful cases and give British citizens the security they need when travelling, working or living abroad.”