More than 95,000 sign petition urging the release of geologist Jim Fitton, detained over artefact smuggling allegations
Ministers are under increasing pressure to help free a retired British geologist at risk of facing the death penalty in Iraq over smuggling allegations.
A petition urging the release of father-of-two Jim Fitton, 66, has received more than 95,000 signatures in the three days since it was launched.
Continue reading...Retiree Jim Fitton, 66, was detained when airport security found ‘valueless’ pottery shards in luggage
The family of a retired British geologist facing the death penalty in Iraq have called on the UK government to urgently intervene.
Jim Fitton, 66, was detained by authorities in the Middle Eastern country, accused of smuggling, during a geology and archaeology trip.
Continue reading...Mother is unlikely to survive without medical intervention, leaving her young son orphaned, say doctors
MPs and a human rights group have called on the UK government to repatriate a young British boy and his gravely ill mother from a detention camp in Syria, after doctors said she was at risk of dying and leaving the child orphaned.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was reviewing the case of Zaid* and his mother, Maryam* – who was injured in an explosion in Syria in 2019 and left with shrapnel in her head – “as a matter of priority”.
Continue reading...Support slashed despite warnings about impact, with offices told not to discuss plans with local partners, says National Audit Office report
The British government forced through £4.2bn in aid cuts so quickly it had little time to plan the impact they would have, or consult partners, according to an official audit.
The National Audit Office (NAO) said bilateral spending – aid given directly to another government – faced some of the harshest cuts by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) – 53% compared with less than a third of the overall aid budget – because of political and legal commitments to multilateral spending.
Continue reading...Former defence secretary says investigation could help determine why it took six years to secure release
The former British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has called for an independent investigation into why it took six years to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, saying she was right to question why her release took so long to secure.
Both Hunt and the former foreign minister Alistair Burt have said they would be willing to give evidence about the issues involved in securing her release. Burt has proposed there should be a foreign affairs select committee inquiry into why the payment of a historic debt was delayed.
Continue reading...Abu Zubaydah, tortured at CIA ‘black sites’ in six different countries, has right to sue UK government
UK intelligence services who allegedly asked the CIA to put questions to a detainee who was being tortured in “black sites” were subject to the law of England and Wales and not that of the countries in which he was being held, the court of appeal has ruled.
The three appeal judges were asked to decide whether Abu Zubaydah, who was subjected to extreme mistreatment and torture at secret CIA “black sites” in six different countries, has the right to sue the UK government in England.
Zubaydah had no control whatever over his location and in all probability no knowledge of it either.
His location was irrelevant to the UK intelligence services and may have been unknown to them.
The claimant was undoubtedly rendered to the six countries in question precisely because this would enable him to be detained and tortured outside the laws and legal systems of those countries.
Continue reading...Home Office sources contradict earlier government denials that third way to enter Britain may be introduced
Priti Patel has been accused of presiding over chaos after Ukrainian refugees arriving in Calais were greeted by posters telling them to get their UK visas in Paris or Brussels, while her pledge to expand the visa scheme was contradicted by Downing Street.
On a day of confusion and uncertainty for Ukrainian refugees making the 1,400-mile journey to Britain, the home secretary admitted that she has not yet set up a visa application centre (VAC) near the French port of Calais where refugees have gathered.
Continue reading...Foreign office’s ‘top-down’ approach failing people it is seeking to protect, says watchdog, with abuse cases still underreported
The British government has not listened to victims in its efforts to tackle abuse in the humanitarian sector after the “sex for aid” scandals, a UK watchdog has said.
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (Icai) said the government was falling short because of a “top-down” approach and needed to listen and learn from recipients of aid who remained reluctant to report abuse allegations.
Continue reading...Fifty years since they were deported to Mauritius by the UK, Chagossians are still fighting for their homeland
Returning to their birthplace after decades of enforced exile, five Chagossians leapt from a motor launch on to the palm-shaded beach of Peros Banhos atoll on Saturday afternoon, kissed the pale sand and stood – hands joined together – in thanksgiving prayers.
For Olivier Bancoult, Lisbey Elyse, Marie Suzelle Baptiste, Rosemonde Bertin and Marcel Humbert, it was the moment they had long anticipated – the first time they could step ashore without close monitoring by British officials.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary told MPs laws would be in place by 10 February but nothing has been put to parliament
The British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, will meet her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Thursday with her plan to have put the UK’s “toughest sanctions regime against Russia” on the statute book in time for the trip having fallen through.
Truss told MPs the laws would be in place by 10 February, but nothing has been put to parliament, raising suspicions among opposition MPs that government lawyers are struggling to frame the sweeping and unprecedented new laws.
Continue reading...PM called claims he intervened to help evacuation of animal charity ‘complete nonsense’
Foreign Office emails appear to contradict Downing Street’s insistence that Boris Johnson did not personally authorise the controversial rescue of cats and dogs from a British animal charity in Afghanistan.
The release of two emails on Wednesday prompted claims that the prime minister lied, while he faces separate accusations about misleading parliament over the Downing Street parties scandal.
Continue reading...Warning greeted with shock and some scepticism in Kyiv but aide says it fits ‘logical chain’
Ukraine is reacting “seriously” to UK Foreign Office allegations that Moscow has plans to invade the country and install a puppet government, a senior government adviser has said, adding that Kyiv is resisting Russian efforts to destabilise its government and economy.
The extraordinary Foreign Office claims that Moscow may topple the government and install Yevhen Murayev, a former MP who controls a pro-Russia television station, were met with shock and some scepticism in Ukrainian political and media circles on Sunday.
Continue reading...Second British man taken to hospital following incident that reportedly took place in early hours of Saturday
The death of a British man in Thailand has been confirmed by officials amid reports he was attacked.
A second British man was taken to hospital after the incident, the Foreign Office confirmed.
Continue reading...Abdullah says guards who risked their lives for the British cannot understand why they have been abandoned
Abdullah*, 34, was a security guard for the British embassy, employed under contract by GardaWorld, and had a senior management role, looking after other locally employed embassy guards. He and about 180 colleagues had hoped to be evacuated to the UK at the end of August, but the evacuation was stopped by a bomb at the airport. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) made a clear commitment that all GardaWorld staff would be allowed to travel to the UK, but this has not happened.
We’ve heard nothing from the Home Office or the FCDO and life is becoming very hard for everyone who worked for the British embassy. Surviving when there is no income and no work is very difficult. We’re still hoping we will get an email about evacuation plans, but we haven’t heard anything. The UK government is helping footballers and writers to leave the country, but there has been no help for us. We feel like we should be first in line because we risked our lives for the British government. It’s a huge disappointment for all of us.
Continue reading...Rebrand of Foreign Office’s development arm, seen as effort to rival China’s loans, will shift aid to private sector, warn NGOs and unions
The British government has been accused by NGOs and trade unions of “chasing colonial post-Brexit fantasies” at the expense of the world’s poorest as they urge Liz Truss to keep aid focused on poverty reduction rather than geopolitical manoeuvring.
In a joint letter to the foreign secretary, the group criticises the rebranding of the UK’s development investment arm, which will see the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) become British International Investment (BII) next year.
Continue reading...Participants in women’s fasting relay will demand Boris Johnson repay £400m to Iran for 1970s arms deal
Women around the world will take turns to fast for 24 hours in an attempt to put pressure on the UK government to secure the freedom of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from detention in Iran.
The campaign by FiLiA, a female-led volunteer organisation working for the liberation of women, follows the 21-day hunger strike Nazanin’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, mounted outside the Foreign Office in London until mid-November.
Continue reading...The foreign secretary is assuming responsibility for the UK’s relationship with the EU, says Downing Street
The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, is to take over responsibility for the UK’s relationship with the EU after the Brexit minister Lord Frost’s resignation, Downing Street has said.
She will be adding ministerial responsibility to her foreign portfolio with immediate effect.
Continue reading...‘Fahim’ was cleared to leave Kabul. Then the phone went dead. Now he moves house every two days to evade capture
Fahim, a journalist who had worked with British media organisations, was one of thousands of Afghans who approached the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for help to escape Afghanistan after the Taliban’s conquest this summer.
Told he was cleared to travel with his family to the UK, he was also one of the many left behind as the promised help from the FCDO failed to materialise.
Continue reading...Ex-diplomat claims string of failings within department led to ‘people being left to die at the hands of the Taliban’
Tens of thousands of Afghans were unable to access UK help following the fall of Kabul because of turmoil and confusion in the Foreign Office, according a devastating account by a whistleblower.
A former diplomat has claimed bureaucratic chaos, ministerial intervention, lack of planning and a short-hours culture in the department led to “people being left to die at the hands of the Taliban”.
Continue reading...Ambassador warned Foreign Office an Iraqi invasion was under way but this was not passed on to airline
Hundreds of British passengers might have avoided being taken hostage by Saddam Hussein in 1990 if a call by a British ambassador regarding Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait had been relayed to British Airways, the Foreign Office has disclosed.
The revelation of the phone call and the decades long cover-up was made on Tuesday under the 20-year disclosure rule, but was known to ministers and diplomats since 1990. The current foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has apologised for the omission.
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