Committee publication · Correspondence · 15 July 2026
Letter to the Rt Hon Alistair Burt regarding his recent appointment to the role of UK Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions, dated 14 July 2026
Summary
The Foreign Affairs Committee congratulates Alistair Burt on his appointment as UK Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions. The Committee, which has long advocated for such a role, seeks to understand how the position will be resourced and empowered to support families of British citizens held without judicial process abroad. The Chair invites Burt to meet the Committee to discuss these matters.
Key findings
- The Committee previously called for appointment of an arbitrary detention Envoy in its Israel-Palestine Conflict report
- Multiple British citizens are held without proper judicial process across different territories
- The Committee seeks clarity on resourcing and powers available to the new Envoy role
- The Committee wishes to understand how the Envoy will support hostage families
Tone
ProceduralTopics
consular-affairsarbitrary-detentionhostage-diplomacyhuman-rights
Key actors
Alistair Burt, Dame Emily Thornberry, Foreign Affairs Committee, UK Government
Notable line
“Given the number of cases of British citizens being held without proper judicial process in a number of different territories, the Committee looks forward to learning more about the way in which your role will resourced and empowered to support hostage families.”
Key Quotes
“The Committee has long called for the appointment of an arbitrary detention Envoy; indeed, in our report on the Israel-Palestine Conflict, to which you gave evidence, we called for the Government to outline its plans for the appointment.”
“Given the number of cases of British citizens being held without proper judicial process in a number of different territories, the Committee looks forward to learning more about the way in which your role will resourced and empowered to support hostage families.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗