A child recovery agent 60 Minutes hired for a botched kidnapping says the Australian government is ignoring him.

But the government insists it can't intervene because Adam Whittington entered Lebanon using his UK passport, and British authorities are already providing consular assistance.

Mr Whittington is in a Lebanese prison after he was involved with the Nine Network's attempt to return Sally Faulkner's children to Australia in April.

"Not once during my detention has Julie Bishop attempted to contact my family and Julie Bishop has continued to ignore my families (sic) desperate pleas to contact her," Mr Whittington said in a letter released on Sunday.

A spokesperson for Ms Bishop said this was not true.

"The foreign minister has been in direct contact with Mr Whittington's wife, both by phone and email," they told AAP in a statement.

Ms Bishop is making, and has already made, representations to her Lebanese counterpart about Mr Whittington's case, they said.

In his letter, Mr Whittington accused Ms Bishop of leaving him behind while working to free Nine Network's four-member 60 Minutes crew, including reporter Tara Brown.

"You blatantly neglected me and then threw me under your bus after C9's bus," he wrote.

Mr Whittington's child recovery agency was hired by the network to snatch the two young children of Brisbane mum Sally Faulkner from a Beirut street in April.

Ms Faulkner and the 60 Minutes crew were arrested along with Mr Whittington and three other men in the hours after the children were taken.

But while Ms Faulkner and the 60 Minutes team were released after Nine reportedly paid $500,000 to the children's Lebanese father, Mr Whittington and his three colleagues remain behind bars.

Documents show Nine paid Mr Whittington $70,000 for the failed operation.

Ms Bishop's office on Sunday said Mr Whittington is receiving the same level of consular assistance as any Australian citizen in a similar situation.