Family of detained Briton in Dubai say Foreign Office is ‘treating them like dirt’

Ryan Cornelius is pictured on holiday with his family in 2005. His youngest son Josh, held in the picture by Ryan’s wife Heather, is now 22 years old - (Provided to The Independent by Chris Paget)

The family of an unjustly imprisoned Briton in Dubai have accused the Foreign Office of “treating them like dirt” after David Lammy cancelled a belated meeting to discuss how to broker their loved one’s release just moments before their arrival.

Wife Heather Cornelius and brother-in-law Chris Pagett spent three hours travelling to London last Tuesday for a meeting with the foreign secretary to discuss the case of Ryan Cornelius, the 71-year-old British businessman who has spent the last 17 years languishing in a Dubai jail. He is the longest currently detained Briton on charges understood to be unfair.