To think the British people who went out to Dubai to profit from slave labour by "influencing" (i.e. manipulating) made their beds and now should lie cosily in them

[Mightneedencouraged]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/01/uk-citizens-detained-uae-frustrated-government-intervention-iran-conflict

The brass neck of these family members complaining when the boot is finally on the other authoritarian foot

I understand why their relatives are worried but find it difficult to drum up much sympathy.

It’s another extension of the widespread belief that it’s the government’s responsibility to sort out everyone’s problems.

Anyway it sounds like they are actually doing something. What else to they suggest, sending in the SAS to “extract” them?

Lots of British immigrants move to countries where they profit from slave labour. Should we only be resentful of the ones who went to Dubai?

They probably should have been bright enough to realise they were there to shill for late stage capitalism and that should have limited their opinions accordingly.

I hope the UK can do something about this though. Not sure it has a lot of leverage.

Good point. In fact, Britain also benefits for its historical role in the slave trade.

Methinks this is more annoyance and jealousy that some people are opting not to pay tax into britain’s failing public services.

Is it jealousy if someone refuses to pay for services then demands those services for free?

I think it’s fundamentally that there’s a perceived air of smugness around people who move to Dubai that SOME people don’t like.

If these were British citizens working overseas in a less glamorous location, far fewer people would question the government’s involvement.

The idea that only certain emigrants should qualify for support from Britain is nonsense. We wouldn’t apply that logic to any other country. It’s pure snobbery that they have dared to go to Dubai which, to some, is not an acceptable country to emigrate to.

They can bloody well stay there.

Well if they were high earners in the UK they have quite likely paid more in taxes than most people on mumsnet, even if they left the country at some point. most people in the uk are net recipients in tax after all.

my point anyway is that youre probably pretending that this is about slave labour when i would bet it’s more that you are annoyed that society/ public services are crumbling and some people can opt out.

I agree to a certain extent. People fall
for the “Westernised” exterior and forget that is far from the reality. I don’t think I’d ever fully relax there, the laws and culture being what they are and therefore would never countenance living there. I have friends who do though.

I disagree with your opening question. I think they should get any help any other British citizen in trouble abroad would reasonably receive.

I also think though, that maybe (highly unlikely though imo) now they’ll see that the tax they sneered at actually has a use, and one of those uses is to aid people who end up needing help they didn’t foresee needing. And just maybe, a sliver of compassion for people in other situations who end up needing help they didn’t foresee needing, like benefits (and maybe those people aren’t “parasites”, to quote Isabel Oakeshott, any more than she presumably thinks she is).

Why are you upset only with the Dubai expat crowd then? They did pay UK tax presumably before then buggered off and I would think that was quite a lot.

What about people in the UK who don't pay for services but demand everything for free? Are you upset with them as well?

Why this Dubai bashing all the time? I have family there. They treat their maid well. They've been there 20 years old. Both husband, wife and their DC have built successful careers there.

We've been there on holiday last year and I loved my trip. Absolutely fantastic. Felt super safe and clean. Loved new Dubai, the city and the food was amazing.

If people want to build a career there and have no income tax sobeit.

Had the Iran crisis not happened we were seriously seriously considering a move to somewhere in the ME. DH £200k plus salary and no income tax to be wasted and squandered by the UK government? Sign me up!

The UAE citizens and residents do not deserve to be bombed or to be killed by shrapnel.

This screams a bit of jealousy to me. If they’ve gained a big enough platform to ‘influence’ from their sheep followers in the UK then they’re bound to have paid extortionate amounts of tax into the system already and have probably been aghast at the fortunes of tax that gets squandered unnecessarily. They’ve probably already paid more tax into the UK than most of the population will in their own careers so why shouldn’t they come back?

I have a relative working as a lecturer in a university in UAE and of course she earns far more there than she could here. Academia is shedding jobs in this country. I support her decision to work there. Its a place I would have gone myself if I had been younger when I did my doctorate. She is single and childfree like me and is absolutely rinsed by our corrupt tax system to subsidise those who have children.. We are not a rich family and one of the few ways for a single income person to get on the housing ladder now is to work in the ME for a few years and come back with a wad of cash,

I thought these bitter, twisted threads had stopped.

You're a bit late to the bandwagon party OP.

I think if people stop paying tax in this country, they shouldn’t expect the uk to bail them out when they’re in trouble

What about all the UK citizens who don't work or work very little or in menial jobs who live off benefits? What are they contributing?

Can't have it both ways though or nor should you . Avoid taxes , partake in an economy that you know damn well is dismissive of basic human rights and misogynistic, but want bailing out by your birth country when it all goes tits up. Use some of your ill gotten wealth to help yourselves .

The linked story is about breaching laws of UAE though. If they are caught breaching laws ie social media images about drone attacks etc then they get arrested, its not really the UK's problem to fix. Nothing to do with jealousy. Consular support is and should always be provided but if you break laws in resident country then take the punishment.

"The families of UK citizens held in the United Arab Emirates over allegations that they shared images of the conflict with Iran have voiced frustration at the British government’s failure to help.

Several British citizens are among more than 100 foreign nationals who have been detained under draconian Emirate rules that outlaw publishing or sharing material that could “disturb public security”

UK government ministers have refused to condemn the arrests, amid claims they are too fearful of offending the Emirates because of their economic clout.

The campaign group Dubai Watch, which is supporting nine British detainees, said their identities could not be revealed for fear of reprisals. But it has shown the Guardian anonymised correspondence from their increasingly anxious families.

A mother whose daughter is being held wrote: “This experience is exhausting, mentally and emotionally.”

Squandered - there in lies the issue. Some may say it is being squandered by paying to help out people that haven't paid in for years or are happy to slag it off. Then complain when their new home isn't quite as democratic as they are used to. No taxes come at a price, and part of that is a tough judicial system.

Police in Abu Dhabi said those detained had “filmed sites and events and disseminated inaccurate information via social media platforms during the ongoing events, an action that could stir public opinion and spread rumours among community members”.

In a statement, the officials said these “violations” amounted to a “misuse of social media”.

For heaven’s sake, Dubai is a black hole of censorship, surveillance and human rights abuses. The ‘influencers’ who move there on specific assisted visas are there as propagandists for a tribal dictatorship. Either they knowingly signed on for that and thought they could game the system, or they were too dopey to know what they were doing and are suffering for their own naïveté. Either way, they need to acknowledge the limits of what the British embassy can do.

When you go to work or travel in an absolute regime then you are wise to obey the local laws, regardless of what you think of them. If you are not prepared to obey those laws then dont go. I travelled in Syria under the Assad regime and Iran in the 1990s, I kept my opinions of the government to myself and was careful of what things I photographed.