The UK government was questioned what “practical steps” it’s taking to deter future politically motivated hostage-taking after it paid a historic debt to Iran “in parallel” with the release of British-Iranians Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori on Wednesday.
Labour former minister Hilary Benn said the payment and the release of the detainees were“always sequential” in the eyes of the Iranian regime, and Conservative chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat reminded the government of a precedent where the regime took more hostages after receiving ransom from the United States and urged the government to make sure the fund is not used to purchase weapons.
