Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 5:41 pm on 30th December 2020.
I pay tribute to the hon. Lady, and the shadow Leader of the House, for their tireless campaigning for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, which is a model of how Members of Parliament ought to behave when seeking redress of grievance for their constituents. Tulip Siddiq is absolutely right. The words in the passport are:
“Her Britannic Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of Her Majesty”.
We are, I believe, the only country that both requests and requires. When Government documents say such things, I expect them to be factual. The Foreign Office helps 30,000 British nationals each year. As I said earlier, it is a fundamental point that the British Government must protect Her Majesty’s subjects.