Foreign affairs committee announces state hostage taking inquiry

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s detention by Iran will be examined in parliament after the foreign affairs committee announced an inquiry into state level hostage situations.

The inquiry will focus on the cases of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, who were both released by Iran last month after the UK paid back a historic debt to the country.

Tom Tugendhat, chair of the foreign affairs committee, said hostage taking “is fast becoming a tool of choice for authoritarian states.

““This inquiry will examine the support provided by the FCDO to hostages in recent cases, as well as take a look at the broader picture and ask how the government can clamp down on the practice internationally.”

Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s MP, Tulip Siddiq, welcomed the move: