As Iranians pack their bags, terror of British embassy staff revealed

Dominick Chilcott spoke out as Iranian diplomats left the UK, just before an official deadline, after being expelled by the British government following the attack on the UK’s embassy.

The ambassador told how some workers and their relatives had been sent before the protests to the embassy’s residential complex in the north of the city for their safety.

But they ended up being taken by demonstrators, who surged through security.

Mr Chilcott said one embassy worker had barricaded himself in one of the “keeps” – parts of the compound designed to block out intruders until police arrive – for 45 minutes before he was overpowered.

He said those staff had been in a worse predicament than those in the main embassy building, because they had gone there thinking it was a “place of safety”. When the attack happened, it was “more of a surprise”.

“I think this made it more difficult for them generally. They did follow the well-established procedures, which was to try and get out of the compound, and two of our staff did manage to get out, although they got into a car and they were chased to the gate and just got out before the invaders reached them.

“So, it must have been really frightening for them.”

He went on to say the member of staff who was on his own in a keep had barricaded the door with a heavy safe and a bed, and braced himself against the wall.

“For 45 minutes, he could hear people bashing down the door, smashing the windows and trying to get in because they knew he was there,” Mr Chilcott said.

“It must have been a very frightening experience – until eventually, the door gave way and they got him.

“Then our staff, in the end there were seven altogether, and they were taken to one of the properties and they were made to sit silently. They were not allowed to talk in the room by the invaders, without really knowing what was going on.”

As the last Iranian diplomats were on their way out of Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron again condemned the “appalling” attack. And as officials loaded luggage on to vehicles outside the embassy, f 20 protesters shouted anti-regime slogans.

Many were members of the London Green Movement, which opposes president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and campaigns on human rights issues.

Akbar Karimiam, 49, said: “As an Iranian, I’m embarrassed about what happened in the British embassy in Tehran. The Iranian embassy here is not representing the nation, it’s representing the regime. We are here to say goodbye to the dictator regime represented here.”

The UK has accused a militia backed by the Iranian regime of carrying out the storming of the UK compound, amid tensions over Iran’s nuclear ambition.

On Wednesday, Foreign Secretary William Hague gave Iran 48 hours to close its London base and remove all staff from UK soil.

The latest developments were discussed yesterday in Paris, where Mr Cameron thanked president Nicolas Sarkozy for his country’s help.