Jim Fitton: PM 'declined' to meet family of jailed man

Jim Fitton said he took the items because of his "hobby" but added he did not mean to do anything illegal

The prime minister has declined a request to meet the family of a British man jailed in Iraq, according to MPs.

Geologist Jim Fitton, 66, was sentenced to 15 years for trying to smuggle artefacts out of Iraq in March.

Wera Hobhouse, the MP for Bath, where Mr Fitton is originally from, is one of several MPs supporting his family to try to secure his release.

"Jim's family needs more commitments from the highest level in government," she tweeted.

Ms Hobhouse said that Neale Hanvey, MP for Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath, raised Mr Fitton's case "directly" with Boris Johnson and asked him to meet with them and Jim's family, some of whom live in Fife.

"Sadly", he declined, she added.

Mr Hanvey tweeted that he "wholeheartedly" agreed with Ms Hobhouse and would be meeting with her on Thursday to "consider next steps".

He called the it an "effective rebuffal (sic)" to a sincere request, which "is just not good enough".

Mr Fitton was stopped at Baghdad Airport where officials found 12 stones and shards of broken pottery in his luggage on 20 March.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said it was in contact with the local authorities, "providing consular assistance to a British national in Iraq" and "supporting his family".

He had been on a geological trip to the Middle Eastern country and has repeatedly insisted he had no idea he was breaking Iraqi laws.