Luke Symons: Cardiff man 'could have been home earlier', says MP

Luke Symons converted to Islam in his late teens, taking the name Jamal

A Cardiff man held in Yemen without charge for years could have been home sooner if there had been "more focus" on his case, a Welsh MP has said.

Luke Symons was 25 when he was seized in 2017 by the Houthis, as a suspected spy.

After his release MP Kevin Brennan said Mr Symons had lost "five years of his young life".

He called for procedures to help those captured abroad to be reviewed. The Foreign Office was asked to comment.

Mr Symons was seized in 2017 by the Houthis, a rebel group fighting the Yemen government in the civil war.

He was one of 14 people whose release Oman said it helped to secure. They have been held in Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa.

They have now been transferred to Oman's capital, in preparation for being flown back to their own countries.

Mr Brennan brought the case to light in the Commons

His case was taken up by Cardiff West MP Mr Brennan, who led a debate in the House of Commons last week, to highlight Mr Symons' plight.

Days later, Mr Symons was released.

"Luke's family wanted the case highlighted in parliament, publicly because they felt that was the way to keep pressure on ministers to actually do something about it.

"I think they were right," said Mr Brennan said, who claimed relatives were often told be the Foreign office not to seek publicity.

The Labour MP said that led him to question whether the Foreign Office wanted to avoid "the embarrassment of the fact that they've been held for so long".

'Others still held captive'

Mr Brennan said that while Mr Symon's family felt "joy and delight" over his release, there were still other British citizens held captive overseas, "often without any proper judicial process".

Mr Symons was one of 14 people whose release Oman said it helped to secure. They have been held in Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa.

He was detained with his wife and young son, who was only a few months old, when they tried to leave the country.

"We believe it was for no reason other than him having a British passport," said Amnesty International's Eilidh Macpherson.

"There has never been any evidence, charges or trials against him."

Following the release, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "I have been following the case for a very long time.

"I want to pay particular thanks to our friends in the government in Oman and Saudi government for what they have done to help free Luke from his captivity in Yemen and I wish his family all the very best."

An inquiry will now be launched into the Foreign Office's procedures following calls from Mr Brennan and Tulip Siddiq, MP for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to review the process for release of British captives.

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• Cardiff man freed after five years in Yemen detention

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"I believe Luke could have been brought home much earlier had there been more focus on the case," Mr Brennan said.

"It's been extremely frustrating that Luke has been there for five years, five years of his young life.

He pointed out that there had been five different foreign secretaries during that time.

"It has been very frustrating to watch other nationalities get their people out. American and French captives in Yemen have been released during that period of time... there does need to be an inquiry into why it takes so long to get British captives released," he said.

At least 6,800 civilians have been killed and 10,700 injured in the civil war in Yemen, according to the UN

Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since 2014 and Mr Symons' release came as a UN-brokered ceasefire was implemented on 2 April. Mr Brennan said there was a chance he could have been released two years ago, but it never happened.

Mr Symons is expected to return to Cardiff in the next few days.

"There will be a lot of readjustment to be done and support required," Mr Brennan said.

His relatives have said that his physical and mental health had degenerated during solitary confinement in the capital Sanaa.

"We've had reports from Luke family that he was being denied access to medical treatment, access to family contact and family visits," Ms Macpherson of Amnesty International said. She added that he had been held in solitary confinement for a lot of his detention and had suffered injuries, including a broken arm.

Mr Brennan hopes the inquiry will look at the whether the approach the Foreign Office takes is the right one.

"It doesn't seem to be as successful as what other nations do," he said.

"It's more about understanding exactly how the Foreign Office goes about dealing with these situations. Whether or not it properly maximises its diplomatic efforts, whether or not it is a big enough priority and enough resources are going into getting our captives home," he said.