Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to respond the conviction of Matthew Hedges.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Foreign Secretary has consistently raised Matthew Hedges' case at the highest levels including most recently with the Emirati Foreign Minister on 25 November, and the Crown Prince on 12 November. I also spoke to Emirati Deputy Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash about the case on 23 November. As the Foreign Secretary said, Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff worked incredibly hard to bring about a speedy resolution to Matthew's case. He has now returned to the UK and has reunited with his wife.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what contact and at what level the UK Government has made with its counterparts in the United Arab Emirates subsequent to Matthew Hedges's conviction.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Following the court hearing on Wednesday 21 November, the Foreign Secretary released a statement and discussed Matthew Hedges' case with Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed and the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the UK. I also spoke to Deputy Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash most recently on 23 November. We welcome the news of Mr Hedges' pardon. He has now returned to the UK and has reunited with his wife
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on the UK's bilateral relations with the United Arab Emirates as a result of the treatment of Matthew Hedges in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
As the Foreign Secretary said on 22 November, we have a close partnership with the United Arab Emirates. We have been clear that we do not agree with the charges but we are grateful to the UAE for the effort that put into resolving the situtation.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what guidance his Department has provided to (a) universities and (b) academics in the light of Matthew Hedges’s conviction.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We keep all our travel advice, including for the United Arab Emirates, under constant review to ensure it reflects our assessment of the risk to British nationals. We do not update our travel advice in relation to the specific circumstances of every consular assistance case, but will do so if we assess that other British nationals travelling or living in the area may be affected. We encourage all British nationals to make use of our travel advice, alongside other sources of information available to them, to help them plan for a safe trip.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of its travel advice to the United Arab Emirates.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We keep all our travel advice, including for the United Arab Emirates, under constant review to ensure it reflects our assessment of the risk to British nationals. We do not update our travel advice in relation to the specific circumstances of every consular assistance case, but will do so if we assess that other British nationals travelling or living in the area may be affected. We encourage all British nationals to make use of our travel advice, alongside other sources of information available to them, to help them plan for a safe trip.