Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to cases of British citizens imprisoned overseas and aside from Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, how many of those cases have (a) he and (b) his Ministerial colleagues publicly acknowledged and condemned as torture in the last 20 years; and how many of those acknowledgements were made in (i) Parliament and (ii) the media.

We take all allegations of torture and mistreatment very seriously and will follow up with action appropriate to the circumstances of the case. Although we cannot investigate torture or mistreatment allegations, with the individual's permission, we can raise them with the local authorities, demanding an end to the mistreatment, and that the incident is investigated and the perpetrators are brought to justice. We can also advise individuals on other complaint mechanisms open to them where these exist and are believed to be effective, and encourage them to seek legal advice as appropriate. The assistance we can, and cannot, provide to British nationals abroad is set out in the publication: Support for British nationals abroad: A Guide on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-british-nationals-abroad-a-guide/support-for-british-nationals-abroad-a-guide). This also sets out who we can help, and that the level and type of assistance we offer is tailored to the individual circumstances of each case and local conditions.