Good morning all.

Firstly, an apology from us. You will have noted silence on our part for the last few weeks. This was an advised silence, because we had accepted that the foreign office would not help us until after the trial. That trial has now been held, and Jim has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in Iraq.

We could not be more heartbroken and shellshocked, but there is no value to getting emotional right now. We are suspending our emotional reactions in favour of positive action to get Jim home.

Over the past few months we have been completely overwhelmed by the volume of goodwill and offers of support we have received from friends, old acquaintances of Jim's, and complete strangers. We are eternally grateful for your continuing support. At risk of asking too much of you all, it falls on us to once again ask for your help.

15 years in an Iraqi prison, for a 66 year old white British man, is tantamount to a death sentence (just more protracted and painful for him and our family). We have one last chance to stop this horrific injustice from happening. We need the British Government, through the foreign office, to do what they have outright refused to do throughout this entire process. We need them to help.

Our lawyer has immediately appealed this grossly unfair and political verdict. We need the British government to endorse this appeal strongly and publicly, with ministerial support and the support of the Prime Minister. We recognise that the Prime Minister and Conservative party have other priorities at the moment, but to us, there is no greater priority for a government of our country than to support its citizens when we need them the most. If they can't or won't act now, out of apathy, out of distraction or out of wilful indifference, then we have lost all faith in them to act at all.

And in an attempt to pre-empt their rebuttals, let me just say this. We have never doubted the provision of "consular support" that has been provided to Jim. We have never criticised the embassy staff in Iraq or the foreign office civil servants who, it seems, have been helping as much as they can. It is important to emphasise what "consular support" means. We were provided with a list of English speaking lawyers in Iraq that we could hire to represent Jim. We were provided with a list of English speaking translators who we could hire so he could understand the verdict. Jim was visited, on average once every 10-14 days, by the sub consul in Iraq. This kind individual has also been bringing Jim books to keep his spirits up. In short, the consulate have been providing all the help they can, with both hands tied behind their backs by the political decision makers at the top of the pile. We have never spoken to any ministers, no matter how junior, about this case. They have wilfully ignored the pleas of our MP to engage with her or us. They have allowed this all to play out while attempting to keep their hands clean. We cannot allow them to do this any longer.

So that is our plea. Speak with your MPs. Share and encourage others to sign the petition. Help us to get this story to critical mass so that the government can no longer plead indifference or inability to help. 

We will be more active with our updates in the coming weeks, but again, we will not issue updates unless we have actual news to share. In the meantime, we wish all the best to you all and your families. Any help you can provide, at all, would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

Sam, Leila, Josh and Sarijah