Number 10 lobby briefing on Boris Johnson and Priti Patel
3 min read
Here is a summary of this morning's briefing for lobby journalists by the Prime Minister's official spokesman.
BORIS JOHNSON
The spokesman said Mr Johnson had called Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif this morning to clarify remarks he made to the Foreign Affairs Committee last week about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British mother in an Iranian jail.
In a readout of the call in the name of a Foreign Office spokesman, he said: "He re-iterated his anxiety about the continued suffering of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family and hoped a solution would be reached soon. The Foreign Secretary expressed concern at the suggestion from the Iranian Judiciary High Council for Human Rights that his remarks last week at the Foreign Affairs Committee 'shed new light' on the case. The Foreign Secretary said this was absolutely not true, and that it was clear as it always had been that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been in Iran on holiday when she was arrested.
"The Foreign Secretary made clear that the point he had been seeking to make in his evidence was that he condemned the Iranian view that training journalists was a crime, not that he believed Iranian allegations that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been engaged in such activity," the spokesperson said.
"The Foreign Secretary concluded by emphasising that his remarks could form no justifiable basis for further action in this case and urged the Iranian authorities to release Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe on humanitarian grounds. He set out his intention to visit Iran before the end of the year to discuss the case further.
"Mr Zarif said that the developments in the case over the weekend were unrelated to the Foreign Secretary's remarks and that he remained committed to working with the Foreign Secretary to find a solution to the case on humanitarian grounds.
"The Foreign Secretary accepts that his remarks to the Foreign Affairs Committee could have been clearer on this aspect."
PRITI PATEL
The spokesman confirmed that the International Development Secretary had asked her officials to explore whether the UK could provide aid to Israel to help its work with Syrian refugees in the Golan Heights after speaking to Israeli officials while on holiday.
He said: "The Secretary of State did discuss potential ways to provide medical support for Syrian refugees who are wounded who cross into the Golan for aid. The Israeli army runs field hospitals there to care for Syrians wounded in the civil war, but there is no change in policy in this area. The UK doesn’t provide any financial support to the Israeli army."
The spokesman added: "The Secretary of State accepted her handling of this matter was not correct and she apologised for it. The Prime Minister met with her and reminded her of the obligations which she has."
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