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.

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