Archbishop of York urges action on Iran internet blackout amid humanitarian fears

 

The Archbishop of York has raised urgent humanitarian concerns in the House of Lords over the situation in Iran, calling on the UK Government to press for the restoration of internet access in the country.

Speaking during questions in the Upper Chamber on Thursday, the Most Rev and Rt Hon Stephen Cottrell said there was deep uncertainty over the true human cost of the crackdown in Iran.

“We don’t know how many people have died. We don’t know how many people are injured. We don’t know how many people are missing,” he said. “What we do know is the internet has been brought down in Iran.”

The archbishop stressed that restoring internet access would allow families to contact one another, and gain a clearer understanding of events unfolding on the ground.

“Simply the restoration of the internet would allow family members to be in touch, to seek those who are missing, to know more of what is happening,” he told peers. “That would bring some solace to so many deeply hurting families in this appalling situation.”

Responding on behalf of the Government, Baroness Chapman, Minister of State for Development, acknowledged the lack of reliable information and warned that the full scale of the violence may yet emerge.

She said estimates of the death toll ranged from around 3,000 to “many, many more”, adding: “As information does emerge, we will be horrified at what is revealed.”

Baroness Chapman agreed with the archbishop on the importance of communications, describing access to the internet as “vital” in moments of crisis.

“We want as much as anybody to see that restored,” she said. “There is a reason these things are removed by regimes at moments like this, and it’s not difficult to work out what that is. It’s about hiding what’s happening.”

The US and Iran are due to hold talks in Oman on Friday after Tehran requested a change of venue to limit negotiations to its nuclear programme, a regional official said.

Iran has said it will not make concessions on its formidable ballistic missile programme, one of the biggest in the Middle East, calling that a red line in negotiations.