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  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Maldives government on the unconditional release of former President Nasheed.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    During my visit to the Maldives on 17 and 18 January I met key members of the Maldives government, including President Yameen, and reiterated our call for the release of all political prisoners. The UK welcomed the Maldivian government’s decision on 18 January to allow former President Nasheed to travel to the UK for medical treatment. As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) said to the House during PMQs on 27 January, we now want to see further steps taken by the Maldives government including the release of political prisoners.

  • Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 January 2016 to Question 20771, how many staff are employed in the Coalition Communications Cell; and what the annual operating budget of that unit is.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There are currently nine full time equivalent members of staff working in the Coalition Communications Cell, including two secondees from Canada and the Netherlands.

    The operating budget is the amount the Prime Minister announced at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 which is £10 million; this covers staff costs and all project activity over two financial years. In addition, we are working with Coalition Partners to seek additional resources.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance the Government is giving to Libya for protection of oil fields and production lines in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are extremely concerned about the growing threat from extremist groups in Libya, including Daesh. The recent attacks on the Ras Lanuf and Sidra oil terminals show the threat that these groups pose to Libya’s future political and economic stability. The urgent establishment of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) is the best way to tackle the threat in the long term. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) gave this message when he spoke to Prime Minister-designate, Fayez al-Serraj, on 10 January. He also emphasised the UK Government’s commitment to supporting the GNA in tackling the threats from Daesh and people smuggling.

    Effective public financial management will be crucial in helping the GNA achieve real impact on the ground and gain economic credibility. And it is why we have committed £3 million over the next two years to provide technical assistance and economic governance expertise to Libya, thereby enabling a more effective response to defending Libya’s oil facilities.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in China on the recent disappearance of five people who work for a Hong Kong publishing company and bookseller.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Her Majesty’s Government remains deeply concerned about British citizen Mr Lee Po who went missing from Hong Kong in December and his four colleagues associated with the Causeway Bay Books bookstore. I raised the issue with the Chinese Ambassador to the UK on 22 January and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the case with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on 5 January. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are in regular contact with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to make clear our serious concerns about this matter. As the Foreign Secretary told the House on 12 January, if allegations of Chinese security agents taking a British Citizen out of Hong Kong are correct, then this would be a serious breach of the Joint Declaration (Official Record 12 Jan 2016 : Column 693).

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Romanian government about a NATO Black Sea fleet.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK holds regular discussions with our NATO Allies, including Romania, about security issues across the Euro-Atlantic space, including in the Black Sea region. In July 2015 the Deputy Permanent Representatives Committee in Brussels held a session on the security situation in the Black Sea in which the UK, Romania and a large number of NATO Allies participated.

    In November 2015 HMS Duncan, the Royal Navy’s newest destroyer, visited Romania and provided a visible British and NATO presence in the Black Sea. HMS Duncan also participated in a Passing Exercise with the Romanian navy with the aim of increasing NATO interoperability.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will urge the Iranian authorities to commute immediately the death sentences of the juvenile offenders identified in the report, Growing up on death row: the death penalty and juvenile offenders in Iran, published by Amnesty International on 26 January 2010.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have made clear to Iran, as we do with all countries, our opposition to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, and will continue to urge them to put an immediate moratorium on their use of the death penalty, whether for juvenile or adult offenders.

  • Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 January 2016 to Question 20769, how many individuals have been subject to sanctions imposed by the UK Government for (a) brokering oil deals between Daesh and the Assad regime and (b) other matters covered by UN Security Council Resolution 2253.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK implements the EU’s Syria Sanctions Regime. The EU has listed George Haswani due to his role as a middleman in the purchase of oil from Daesh by the Syrian Regime. In doing so he helps the regime’s military effort against the Syrian people.

    There are an additional 26 Daesh related individuals/entities on the UN list that the UK takes action against, five of whom the UK proposed in September, and the majority of whom we have co-sponsored with partners. This was the first time the British Government asked the UN to add Britons associated with Daesh to its ‘Daesh and Al-Qaeda Sanctions list’, which UNSCR 2253 renewed. We will continue to consider whether more individuals should be subjected to the sanctions.

    The UK implements all UN Daesh/AQ sanctions fully following the adoptions of UN Security Council Resolution 2253 on 17 December 2015.

    Our primary focus remains bringing individuals supporting terrorist organisations to justice; for example the recent conviction of Tareena Shakil who had been a member of Daesh in Syria and encouraged acts of terror.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the level of Russian funding for political groups in NATO member states who oppose NATO and nuclear weapons.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made no such assessment. At the Wales Summit in 2014 all NATO Heads of State/Government reaffirmed their commitment to NATO as a nuclear alliance.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to counter Russian propaganda directed at the UK or at NATO.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is leading a cross-government and international approach to counter Russian misinformation and provide positive, alternative narratives. The UK Government is employing a range of measures to do this, including: strengthening the BBC’s Russian service; setting up and co-ordinating a “Friends of Ukraine” communication hub; leading successful lobbying to create an EU Strategic Communication team in Brussels that is focussed on Eastern Europe; leading the charge to set up the NATO Centre of Excellence for Communication in Riga; helping set-up a NATO trust fund to ensure impactful strategic communication interventions by NATO; and training EU and NATO teams to increase their capacity to rebut Russian misinformation.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Turkish government on access to the Black Sea for merchant shipping.

    Mr David Lidington

    No discussions have taken place between the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and the Turkish government on access to the Black Sea for merchant shipping.