Consular Assistance Absent from King’s Speech Despite Government Promise

By Olivia Dehnavi, Advocacy & Policy Advisor 

For six years, Nazanin Zaghari‑Ratcliffe was trapped in a nightmare far from home. Arbitrarily detained in Iran, separated from her young daughter, and subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, psychological abuse and denial of medical care, she endured treatment that a UN body later confirmed was unlawful and amounted to torture. Yet for much of that time, her family were left in the dark about what help the UK Government would offer and whether it would meaningfully intervene at all. It took nearly eighteen months for the UK to publicly acknowledge Nazanin’s British citizenship, five years to recognise that she had been tortured, and still longer to frame her case for what it was: hostage‑taking. The absence of early, robust consular action compounded her suffering and prolonged her ordeal. 

Nazanin’s case exposes a structural failure at the heart of the UK’s approach to protecting its citizens abroad: consular assistance is discretionary, not a legal right. Despite what British passports promise, there is no guarantee of support when someone is at their most vulnerable, whether they are detained arbitrarily overseas, or even facing torture. 

This legal gap has real and devastating consequences. In 2024 alone, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office received 186 new allegations from British nationals of torture or mistreatment abroad. At least nine British nationals are currently detained in cases that the UN has confirmed are arbitrary. In these situations, families often have no clear information about what assistance they can expect and no recourse when that assistance falls short. 

This is not a criticism of consular staff, many of whom work tirelessly in extremely difficult circumstances. The problem is structural. Without a binding legal framework, assistance can be inconsistent, overly cautious, or delayed, particularly in politically sensitive cases. There is currently no obligation on officials to investigate allegations of torture, to raise cases with ministers, to monitor someone’s wellbeing, to communicate with their family, or even to ask a detaining State to end torture or release someone held arbitrarily. 

Many other countries don’t have this legal gap. Countries including Belgium, Austria and Denmark already provide a legal right to consular protection. By having this legal right, they recognise that consular assistance can be a lifeline. Prison visits, access to legal representation, trial monitoring and regular communication do not just offer moral support but can help prevent torture, detect abuse early, and reduce the long‑term psychological harm of arbitrary detention. 

A legal right to consular assistance would also benefit the UK Government. Clear statutory standards would empower consular officials on the ground, strengthen accountability for decision‑making, ensure compliance with international law, and build trust with families as partners rather than outsiders. Drawing on the experiences of survivors of torture and their families, REDRESS has set out a practical framework for such a right, focused on cases of arbitrary detention and serious human rights violations. 

In its manifesto, Labour committed to “introduce a new right to consular assistance in cases of human rights violations.” Two years on, that commitment remains unfulfilled. 

Tomorrow, the King’s Speech will set out the Government’s legislative programme for the year ahead. Introducing a legal right to consular assistance would be a big step towards strengthening Government protection for British nationals abroad and to prevent future crises that are devastating for families and damaging to the UK’s international reputation. 

Parliament and the public should expect this commitment to be honoured. Further delay risks repeating the mistakes of the past; leaving individuals like Nazanin to suffer longer than they ever should have, waiting for help that should have been guaranteed from the start.

Photo: CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons