Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2021 to Question 27271 on Prisoners: Torture, whether he has (a) publicly acknowledged and (b) condemned the torture of any British citizen imprisoned overseas.

As I stated in my answer of 8 July to question 27271, we take all allegations of torture and mistreatment very seriously and will follow up with action appropriate to the circumstances of the case. The FCDO does not conduct investigations into alleged crimes committed overseas. This is set out in the publication, Support for British nationals abroad (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/961671/Guide_Support_for_British_nationals_abroad_Feb_2021.pdf), which outlines the support we can offer to British nationals who allege they have been subjected to torture and mistreatment overseas. 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. The FCDO does not make judgments or determinations as to whether British nationals have been subjected to torture and mistreatment. The FCDO does not keep statistics or records of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs' references to individual cases in public statements.