Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons his Department advised the family of Billy Barclay to refrain from raising his case of detention in the UAE in the UK media and enlisting the assistance of Detained in Dubai.

Our consular policy is to provide advice, when requested, on what the consequences of speaking or not speaking to the media could be, but we would not recommend a particular course of action. Similarly, our consular officials do not advise people against seeking support from other organisations.