Local MP James Duddridge Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend
East Urges the Foreign Secretary to Review Dual Nationality due to its lack of
recognition by some countries.
On Monday, James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East, attended the
Urgent Question in the House of Commons on the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
James has been following the case, and is concerned about Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s
ongoing plight and her unlawful imprisonment. As Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a dual
national, James felt it was important to raise the issue of dual national status, and its
lack of recognition by countries including Iran.
James said:
The Foreign Secretary has referred several times to the other cases in Iran. Is there
not a real problem with dual nationals, specifically in Iran and countries that do not
recognise dual national status? Is it not time for a broader review of the issue,
alongside the urgency of dealing with this specific case?
The Foreign Secretary said:
It is one of the features of British consular protection that we give it to dual nationals,
irrespective of whether their British nationality is recognised by the country in which
they run into trouble. That is a mark of the dedication of our consular staff to their
job. We will continue to work for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and the other difficult
consular cases in Iran for as long as those cases are outstanding.
To watch on parliamentlive.tv click here.