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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade rejects claims by a New Zealander held in jail in Lebanon that consular officials had not visited him since his arrest two weeks ago.
Former SAS soldier David Bruce Pemberton, from Tamatea in Napier, is being held along with an Australian man on child abduction charges.
Pemberton is supected to be a member of involvement in a five-man mercenary squad hired by Melissa Hawach, a 32-year-old Canadian, to snatch her daughters back from their father Lebanese-Australian father Joseph.
Pemberton told Melbourne's Age newspaper he had received no visits from British Embassy staff, working on behalf of New Zealand which does not have an embassy in Lebanon.
He said a Lebanese lawyer the British Embassy had initially appointed to represent him had appeared only at the first hearing after his arrest and had not been heard from since.
"We had a hearing yesterday and there was nobody there to represent me," he said.
Asked why the New Zealand government had failed to help him, Pemberton said: "I don't know, mate. Maybe they're all on holidays."
But Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Helen Tunnah told NZPA British Embassy staff had visited Pemberton for more than six hours shortly after he was arrested.
"He certainly has had visitors and is now getting consular support," she said.
Another meeting was scheduled for this week, but it was unclear when it was to take place.
British officials had arranged for legal representation at the time and the Ministry understood a change to that was being made by his New Zealand lawyer.
Pemberton's older brother John earlier said the family had sent a message of support through the British embassy but there had been no reply.
- NZPA
