In his article on the case of Maryam Kallis, a British citizen being held in Syria, James Denselow says that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's "failure to condemn" the arrest of Maryam Kallis suggests it sees human rights as negotiable, and that our reaction to her detention was inadequate.
This seriously misrepresents both what I have done, and what my Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have done in the case of Maryam Kallis. Furthermore, it misrepresents British policy on human rights.
The facts of the individual case are as follows: We raised the urgent need for consular access to Maryam Kallis with the Syrian authorities within 24 hours of being informed of her arrest on 14 March. This was repeatedly followed up both through contacts with the Syrian authorities in London and via our chargé d'affaires on the ground.
When I was in Syria last week I raised my concerns directly with Walid Muallem, the Syrian foreign minister, and stressed the need for immediate consular access. We were granted consular access to Mrs Kallis on 8 April. We have demanded a full explanation of the reason for her detention and will continue to pursue this vigorously. We are, and will remain, in frequent touch with family members. Mr Denselow could have found this out by contacting the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Mr Denselow asks a final question in his piece ("... whether the strategic benefits of engaging with Syria is worth the costs that will be paid by those like Mrs Kallis?"). Let me be very clear in answer to this. Of course we can engage with Syria, with human rights principles intact, without compromising our representation in consular cases. The Syrian government's human rights record continues to be a cause for concern and arbitrary arrests are a particular source of worry. As a result, human rights remain an important strand of our bilateral and EU relations with the Syrian government.
The UK's wider efforts to defend human rights worldwide are well-known: from our advocacy for the closure of Guantanamo Bay, to our co-authoring of a major UN resolution pushing for a global Arms Trade Treaty. At the UN Human Rights Council, we were among the first countries examined in the new Universal Periodic Review. We still face huge challenges, but we are making progress and our commitment remains as strong as ever.Bill Rammell is a minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.