I am illegally detained in Cambodia, [*removed by moderator*] There is no evidence that I committed any crime and I have never received a 'trial" as defined by law, I am illegally detained and expected to pay a corrupt court for my freedom - technically held hostage or even trafficked. After a court official demanded a $15,000 payment, [*removed by moderator*]. An embassy observer noted that I did not receive a fair trial, but did not discuss this with me or offer assistance. I only discovered this (2 years later) through requests under the Freedom of Information Act. The FCO failed in their policy, as written by William Hague, to promote my basic right to a fair trial. [*removed by moderator*] The FCO and embassy have failed in their policy to offer assistance, as launched in 2010 by William Hague. To date, I have not been permitted my right to a prompt and impartial investigation. I find meeting with British Embassy staff (from Britain) degrading and rarely helpful, however, local staff are normally keen to help - when policy allows. For these reasons and despite my ongoing imprisonment, I do not meet with consular staff. It just causes more distress when I chase published UK government policies that are just not implemented. [*removed by moderator*] Despite appalling conditions, mistreatment and the frustrations of being trapped in a corrupt justice system, consular staff are permitted to withdraw their service to individuals for questionable reasons. Clearly it would be wrong for NHS staff, police or the fire brigade to withdraw their services because they don't like you, can't deal with your requests or just don't want to deliver UK government policy. It is certainly not an issue of safety (in a prison) - but perhaps more a matter of will, persecution, weak leadership or accepted poor performance. I find the UK foreign aid policy a joke, in January 2014, Hugo Swire gave $500,000 of UK funds to the Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia. Thus promoting the trial rights of a few Khmer nationals while ignoring the policy to defend the rights of UK citizens. The service is not "providing assistance to UK nationals in distress" more like "providing distress to UK nationals requiring assistance".

Given wrong information from Cairo branch which led me into a huge problem in Qatar, and unable to get the Embassy to answer the phone numbers provided. Received no help and had to deal with it alone.

Regarding the death of my son Peter Sinnott in Thailand, most of what needs to be said has been in a previous comment by my daughter Judith. However, I would like to add that I have never been able to understand why I received a telephone call from [*removed by moderator*] of the FCO, who was supposedly in charge of our case, telling me to stop my son and daughter travelling to Thailand. They were already on the plane. He could not give me any reasonable explanation why I should do this. If they had not gone, we would never have found Peter, as he would have been cremated very shortly after. We have never had any explanation why his heart was missing when a post mortem was carried out in the UK after his body was repatriated. Eventually, we requested the files through the Freedom of Information Act. There were many items that were censored. There were also passages in those files that referred to myself and my family in what could to be said in a derogatory manner. The FCO are a national disgrace.

Having been fined (250€) for driving in Spain without a Spanish licence (I am a UK citizen on holiday in Spain, with a full UK licence, which I showed/gave to the cop) I received no assistance from British Consul, until I complained (after 5 weeks' waiting) to William Hague. This 'assistance' was an email setting out where I could appeal the fine. Given all the hype in local Spanish newspapers about consular services I fully expected to receive prompt, helpful advice. How wrong I was. In my opinion and experience the consulate is a waste of public money, and I fear greatly should I need assistance for something really serious.

My brother, Peter Sinnott, was murdered in Thailand in 2002. Initially, reports came through a friend of his that he was "missing" in Thailand but the circumstances were very suspicious due to certain individuals in Pattaya changing their stories on a number of occasions. The family immediately contacted the FCO in London. We were met with complete indifference from the desk officer and eventually his Superior. In fact when I met with them in the presence of my MP, I was asked whether I was sightseeing in London! I was unable to obtain any further information from London and relied on friends who were in South Africa, where Peter lived and worked. The FCO and embassy in Thailand assured me that they had undertaken checks of various hospitals, jails and morgues. They advised me not to fly to Thailand although they failed to indicate why. I ignored that advice and did so and found the unidentified body of my brother in a Bangkok morgue alongside three other Westerners, they had no idea about. I was utterly shocked and horrified that the FCO had allowed this to happen. Had I not gone to Thailand, I would never of found him. Despite the very suspicious circumstances surrounding Peters death the FCO have failed to press the Thai authorities for any information in terms of an investigation. I was given no advice regarding the need to repatriate Peter to ensure an inquest in the UK, although I did so anyway. On return to the UK, I was informed by North Wales Police and my MP, that both offices had received a phone calls from the assigned FCO desk officer informing them that I wish to withdraw statements I had made regarding my suspicions of certain individuals. This was completely untrue and I still stand by those statements today. I did challenge him regarding the rather strange phone calls he made but as always never got a coherent response. This was done in front of a Government Minister who also failed to explain their misinformation and disinformation. I am no longer in contact with the FCO and have no wish to have any further communication with them. In my opinion, the service from the FCO is a complete shambles. I would advise any family dealing with murder/manslaughter overseas to avoid them like the plague. They are very obstructive in their approach and ultimately I believe that their negligence denied Peter Sinnott any form of justice. They should be ashamed!

[*Comment removed by moderator*] I have witnessed the insulting manner in which those seeking help are treated at the Consulate. A computer terminal and telephone line should be available FOC for individuals seeking help. This space should be 10 times bigger if you are serious about comments!!!

My son Matthew Cryer was killed on the Greek island of Zakynthos on the 21st of July 2008. Initial contact with the FCO was and is a bit of a blur but at that time I mistakenly thought that the staff from the Greek desk would offer me every possible support and assistance available. On reflection I have realised this was not the case, I was strongly encouraged not to go out to the Island told “there’s no need and anyway your sons body has been taken to the mainland” something I listened to and will always regret, maybe if I had gone I would have been able to tell the police about Matthew and made the representations for him I thought the FCO were making and just maybe they would have investigated his death more scrupulously at the time, his death was treated as his own fault. Several times I was told I could have Matthew buried or cremated out in Greece, I remember thinking “why do they keep saying that, Matthew was and always will be British why would he want to be buried in Greece”. Thankfully I ignored their advice and brought my son home, without this there would have not been a coroners enquiry or UK inquest and it is at this inquest that a verdict of unlawful killing was given, Matthew had 22 separate injuries to his body and died from 3 blunt trauma blows to his head, several eye witnesses saw him attacked and Derbyshire police have been tremendous in their ongoing support, collecting over 22 witness statements from all over the UK and striving to help in any way possible, even they became frustrated by lack of any action from FCO and started instead to deal directly with SOCA. I can remember when I first challenged a desk officer asking them why I hadn’t been informed that it was likely that the Greek authorities would retain Matthews organs (something I had learned may happen through reading the booklet I was sent) and was told “its something we like people to find out for themselves”. There are many more similar instances to this as times we were given conflicting information, often had to repeatedly call to try to find answers to even simple questions and I felt I was treated like a nuisance to them. I was told they (via consulate on island) had checked with local police and no one saw what happened, this on the busiest street in the main resort of the island and even someone with a small amount of local knowledge would have known this to be unlikely yet the FCO were happy to accept this and pass it too us as a fact when clearly it was not. I have raised these points with David Liddington (minister for Europe) and he assured me desk officers are now better trained and that support has improved though speaking with other families with similar but more recent cases I am not convinced this is the case at all. I have now been in contact with the FCO on and off for five and a half years and I believe this leaves me well placed to comment on the service they provide, I will attempt to give a balanced overview of the support I have received. In total we have had 5 desk officers and of those only one [*name removed by moderator*] was in my opinion supportive and capable in the role, he always returned any calls, never did I have to explain who I was and the circumstances he already knew, he tried to answer any questions I posed of him and I never felt patronised by him as I has will many of the others. Most importantly he was proactive in contacting me sending catch up emails on a regular basis even when there wasn’t any news this was very much appreciated. More recently the desk officers have been polite but once again I find my questions unanswered and calls not always returned, presently I am not in regular contact as I fail to see the point but do hope things can change. The Consular office on Zakynthos perhaps overall provided better support, and the staff turnover is much less providing more consistency, however we have been repeated asked to go through Greek desk in London rather than contacting them direct, this would be ok if Greek desk knew what was happening i.e. last time consulate visited courthouse on our behalf and what said but they don’t. I also get the feeling that consular staff have been told to signpost us to London too. The phrase “We cannot interfere with the judicial system of another country” has been used many times but I have never asked the FCO to interfere but just to represent Matthew and uphold his human rights and my rights as a victim. I have met with the minister for Europe twice arranged by my MP and at both meetings he was well briefed on Matthews case, sensitive to our needs and I believe he tried to help but was constrained by the organisational confines and ethos of the FCO. We did though agree to regular enquiry visits to the courthouse from consular officials and the British ambassador to Greece was asked and I believe has raised Matthews case with the Greek judiciary and the Greek justice ministry. However these actions do not seem to be ongoing or I have not be

I found when I was arrested Cambodia the greatest failing of the policies of the FCO was not to get involved in determining if the international standards of a fair trial were adhered to. Even the attendance at my 'trial' of an observer from the British Embassy would have applied pressure for me to get a fair trial.The British Embassy sat on the fence and allowed an innocent British subject to be found guilty. Others also experienced the same issues that I did and will in the future unless there is a policy change. It's not a case of interfering with another countries justice system it's about insisting on other countries conforming to the international rights to a fair trial.

In summer 2013 I arrived in Ankara on a journey through the Middle East. I had been suffering from amoebic dysentery diagnosed three weeks earlier and was due for a test. As a young, lone traveller I was unfamiliar with the city and phoned the British Embassy in Ankara for a recommendation of a medical centre. The staff member I spoke to said she was unable to provide that sort of information, which was disappointing. My complaint is not with the individual member of staff but I was unhappily surprised that British Embassies refuse to recommend anywhere for non-urgent medical attention.

While on a 24 hour business trip to Brussels, my bag was snatched. Ironically, I was there to attend a Victim Support Europe conference which was to focus on the EU Victims Directive. The crime happened shortly after arrival to Gare du midi). I went straight to the police station and was told by the officer that I couldn’t report a crime as I had no idea. Confused, I explained it had all been stolen, and he said he understood that, but I still could not report a crime. I asked what i could do, in that case, and he told me to go to the Embassy, gave me the address and a map. My passport, return tickets, all cash and cards, phone and other personal items had been in the bag. I managed to access a phone and tried to call the Embassy, after several attempts they answered and told me i had come through to the wrong people and that I needed to Consular office. I tried for a long period of time to contact them but they failed to answer and the call kept getting directed back to the Embassy. the Embassy got impatient with this and told me to stop calling the Consular as they were not answering and that there was nothing the Embassy could do about that. I managed to get what I thought was the Consular address from a policeman in the street, but it transpired it was the Embassy. I tweeted my ordeal from a colleagues phone and someone in the UK got the correct address for me. I walked from the European Parliament to the Consular, having no many for transport, and upon arrival a concierge (who at the time I believed to be a Consular employee) told me he had no idea why I had been sent there as they did not open on this afternoon of every week. He told me to go away and come back tomorrow. I insisted on some kind of help as I was to travel home the next day and the concierge went up to the Consular office. He returned and gave me some paperwork which I could use to report the crime, an address of a police station where I could report it and an address of a shop where i could get passport photographs taken. I had to borrow the money from a colleague to get the photos. i was till under the impression that the door man who did all this worked for the consular, and passed personal details (DOB, Address etc) to him in that belief. Nobody asked if I needed any financial assistance to ensure i could meet the demands of resolving my problem, if I could eat that evening, nothing. I went to report the crime, and the police were helpful, but the crime report is in French, so I had no way of knowing what I was actually signing. I went back to the consular office the next day, as I had been told to do. The concierge had given me an appt time and warned me if I were late I would not be seen as they got very busy. I was delayed and called to let them know, in a panic. When i arrived the Consular was in fact empty, but the concierge scolded me for missing my appt. I had been told the day before that I was “very lucky to be getting seen as they were fully booked”. I am then told i need to pay 124 euro for an emergency passport. I explained I have no money and they tell me I cant have the document. I called my husband and arrange for him to pay, but was told the Consular cannot accept remote payments, I had no ID so I couldn’t get a money transfer. Eventually a colleague kindly paid this money for me. I was now with a colleague, and we were going to go straight to the station. Her card failed, as it had been flagged up for being used abroad. her phone is now out of battery so we go back to the Consular to call her bank to resolve her card issue. We ask to use the phone but the concierge tells us there is no phone. I ask if we could perhaps charge her phone, he asks what make he phone is and tells us no he doesn’t have a charger for that phone. At this point i got both cross and upset, I cried and the concierge told me he didn’t appreciate the way I was talking to him. At this point, I very forcefully insisted that he get someone from the office down to me immediately. A female staff member comes down and asks why am I so upset, of course I can use a phone. She takes us upstairs and even gives us 10 euro to get a bus back to the station. She then explained that the man I had had most contact with was not employed by the British consular, but by the building owners, as a concierge. I was flabbergasted. Having my bag snatched was not a particularly nice experience, but the help and assistance I got was far more concerning. If any of this experience was traumatic for me, it wasn’t the crime, it was the behaviour of those paid to assist me while I travel overseas. I have read some of the other comments here, and the most shocking thing is to read that people who experience the murder of their child or husband seem to experience the same treatment as I did for a bag theft. My thoughts are with those posting here who after suffering a life changing crime have received such appalling treatment