Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what rights to consular assistance British citizens have if they are falsely accused or imprisoned abroad.

Our consular staff endeavour to give appropriate and tailored support to British nationals overseas and their families in the UK, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. What we can and cannot do is set out in our guide on gov.uk. We help around 30,000 British nationals abroad every year. Cases range from supporting those who have lost their passports, been victims of crimes or had accidents while in another country, through to complicated, long-running consular cases such as people detained overseas. The UK is a party to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR), which is a multilateral agreement setting out how States will cooperate in the support of their nationals in distress overseas including for example granting access to detained nationals The Government's ability to provide consular assistance remains at all times dependent on other states respecting the VCCR and must be done in accordance with the laws of that country.