Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Dave Doogan Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)]

I too commend the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq). I wish to reassure her that civil society across these islands is engaged with and vexed about the situation of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Many Angus constituents stand in solidarity with the hon. Member and her constituent, and with her desire to see her returned home.

While serving as Foreign Secretary, the Prime Minister made a difficult situation much worse with, let us call them, those unhelpful remarks about Nazanin. Now that he is Prime Minister, instead of a concerted effort marshalling the entire resources of the state to liberate her and seeking to right his wrong, we have witnessed a total collapse of UK international relations and regular statecraft. When will the Minister jumpstart the Department into life and ensure that UK nationals, starting with Nazanin, can return home to their families, as many other states have achieved for their citizens detained in Iran? The problem is that the Minister has said repeatedly this afternoon that they will continue working, but it seems to many of us that what they are doing is not working.

[James Cleverly]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave some moments ago.