Julian Lewis: The Iranian regime has employed the taking and tormenting of hostages right from the outset. Surely, at some point, one reaches a stage at which one has to say that sweet reason and appeals to compassion are not working and severe sanctions must be considered. What sanctions are at our disposal, and what consideration has been given to imposing them?

[The Minister for the Middle East (Alistair Burt): Sanctions are in place in relation to a number of figures in Iran – the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in its entirety, and others – on human rights grounds. That course of action has already been taken by the United Kingdom.]