UK ‘in negotiations’ over three Britons held by Taliban in Afghanistan, says Suella Braverman

Home secretary Suella Braverman has said the UK government is “in negotiations” over the three British men who are being held in Taliban custody in Afghanistan.

Non-profit organisation the Presidium Network is assisting two of the men, charity medic Kevin Cornwell and a second unnamed man.

Presidium confirmed that the third British man is Miles Routledge – the so-called “danger tourist” who received attention in August 2021 having travelled to Afghanistan despite the Taliban’s takeover.

The two men being assisted by Presidium were detained by Taliban secret police on 11 January. It is unclear how long Mr Routledge has been held for.

Speaking on the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News, Ms Braverman said: “Anyone travelling to dangerous parts of the world should take the utmost caution. If they are going to do that they should always act on the advice of the Foreign Office travel advice.”

She said: “If there are risks to people’s safety, if they’re a British citizen abroad, then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that they’re safe. And the government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure people’s safety is upheld.”

Pressed on whether negotiations for the three Britons are currently happening, Ms Braverman replied: “If there are problems and if there are safety concerns to British individuals abroad then the FCDO [Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office] will be working actively to ensure people are safe.”

Scott Richards, co-founder of the Presidium Network, said: “I am told that those men are in good health and being treated well. I have no reason to believe they have been subject to any poor treatment whatsoever.”

Mr Richards said the men are being held in a general directorate of intelligence facility for foreigners. He said there has been no contact with the men.

Responding to Ms Braverman’s comments, Mr Richards said the Foreign Office “would be fully anticipated to be using its available resources to support the negotiations and understand the circumstances facing the detainees”.

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He added: “We are not privileged with any information pertaining to their actions and, should we become aware of them, we would be unable to discuss. We certainly welcome their assistance and would be pleased to co-operate alongside, as we have done in the past.”

A FCDO spokesman said: “We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families.”

Meanwhile, Ms Braverman told the BBC that Rishi Sunak’s government was looking at “all sorts of land and sites and vessels” for migrant accommodation as part of the attempted crackdown on small boats.

Pressed on the possibility disused ferries and barges could be used, the home secretary said: “We’re looking at all options. We’re looking at all sorts of land and sites and vessels and we’re in negotiations with a high number of operators around the country.”

But Ms Braverman refused to confirm a Sun On Sunday report that ministers are close to signing a contract with Portland Port Authority over “floating accommodation for asylum seekers” off the Dorset coast.

She told Sky News she would not talk about a “private commercial transaction”.

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Ms Braverman also insisted Rwanda is a safe country to deport failed asylum seekers to – despite evidence that 12 refugees were shot dead by Rwandan police in 2018.

Asked about the evidence on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, the cabinet minister said she was “not familiar” with the case, before adding: “That might be 2018, we’re looking at 2023 and beyond.”

Challenged that the United Nations had judged Rwanda unsafe, Ms Braverman said: “The High Court, senior expert judges, have looked into the detail of our arrangement with Rwanda and found it to be a safe country and found our arrangements to be lawful.”

Pressed on whether Mr Sunak’s “stop the boats” pledge would be fulfilled in 2023, the home secretary: “It’s going to be pretty obvious when we’ve succeeded in achieving that. I’m not going to out clear dates on everything.”

The Tory cabinet minister also refused to repeat her previous hope that net migration could fall to tens of thousands.

Ms Braverman said: “The clear answer I can give you is that I support our manifesto commitment to get overall migration numbers down, including legal migration.”