The Foreign Office should apologise to a British academic for failing to protect him from torture after he was arrested while working in the United Arab Emirates, a British parliamentary watchdog has said.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman recommended that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) apologise to Matthew Hedges and pay him £1,500 in compensation.

The FCDO should state publicly “what it will do to ensure its handling of similar circumstances” is in line with guidelines designed to protect British citizens abroad, the report adds.

Mr Hedges was falsely accused of spying for MI6 and sentenced to life in jail in November 2018 after being arrested at Dubai airport on May 5 that year, as he tried to leave the UAE.

He was eventually released later that month under the terms of a presidential pardon.

It took a month following his arrest before he was even granted a meeting with a British consular officer.