Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the recent detention of the British citizen, Jamil Ahmed Mukadam, in the UAE, what steps his Department is taking to make British citizens aware of the risks and dangers of travelling to the UAE.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office publishes Travel Advice on 225 countries and territories to help British people make better-informed decisions about their foreign travel. No travel can be guaranteed absolutely safe, but our advice is one source of useful information to help people make well-informed decisions – and take responsibility for their choices.

Our travel advice for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) explains that local laws and customs are very different to those in the UK and that there may be serious penalties for doing something which may not be illegal in the UK. Both our Travel Advice and our Embassy's many public awareness raising campaigns cover some of the specific issues which may arise from differences in laws and customs.