Greg Mulholland calls for a debate to help a man detained in Greece

The MP for Leeds North Greg Mulholland is calling on the Foreign and Commonwealth office to do more to help British Citizens tied up into the Greek legal system. He is focusing attention on the case of Fran Prenga, who is currently detained in custody in Greece, on suspicion of carrying out a series of armed robberies in Athens in 2004 and 2005.

Mr Prenga, 34, was arrested and imprisoned by Greek authorities after attending a police station to fill in some legal documents, relating to a restaurant business he was investing in with some of his family. Mr Prenga’s family insist he is innocent and have the documentation to prove this, however, they have so far been denied the opportunity to put this in front of the relevant bodies.

Concerns have been raised by Fran’s family and friends and by Mr Mulholland, who has already written to the Richmond MP and Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and to the British Embassy in Greece about the conditions Fran is being kept in and the seeming lack of support he has received from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The MP is calling for an urgent statement from the Foreign Secretary and a debate on the issue of British Citizens tied up in the Greek legal system and the lack of support they have received from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, specifically highlighting the case of Mr Prenga.

The Leader of the House acknowledged Greg’s concerns, admitting that he also has a constituent entangled within the Greek legal system, which he described a ‘obscure’ and ‘difficult to penetrate’.