Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an estimate of the number of British National (Overseas) visa holders in (a) Hong Kong and (b) China who do not have access to consular protection.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO and our embassies, high commissions and consulates worldwide provide consular assistance to British nationals abroad. This includes BN(O)s who, under the Memoranda to the Joint Declaration, are eligible for consular assistance in third countries, but not in Hong Kong, Macao or mainland China. It is not possible to give an exact figure of the number of BN(O)s who live in, or travel to, Hong Kong and China, as this information is not captured by the FCDO. There are an estimated 2.9 million people who retain BN(O) nationality.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of (a) threats made against Jimmy Lai’s international legal team and (b) other aspects of the UN Secretary General's report on Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights, A/HRC/57/60, published on 20 August 2024.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Any attempts to coerce, intimidate or harm those who cooperate with the United Nations, are unacceptable. The UK unequivocally condemns each and every act of intimidation or reprisal.
We are carefully reviewing the UN's report on 'Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights' and will respond to the report during the current session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates on releasing Ryan Cornelius from imprisonment in Dubai.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO Ministers regularly raise consular cases with their counterparts at appropriate opportunities. The FCDO continues to provide consular assistance to Mr Cornelius.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to recommendation 6 of the Bishop of Truro's Independent Review of FCDO support for persecuted Christians, published in 2019, whether he plans to appoint a Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government will champion freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. Envoy roles will be decided upon in due course. In the meantime, we will use the strength of our global diplomatic network, including dedicated staff within the FCDO, to promote and protect FoRB around the world.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the delivery of £2.5 billion from the sale of Chelsea Football Club.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The proceeds from the sale of Chelsea FC are currently frozen in a UK bank account while independent experts establish a foundation to manage and distribute the money. A licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation will then be needed to move the funds to the foundation. We want this money to reach Ukraine as quickly as possible and remain open to any arrangement that clearly delivers this.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) enabling Parliament to exercise oversight of sanctions policy and (b) imposing a duty on His Majesty's Government to lay an annual report before Parliament on sanctions and other related measures adopted on the basis of a relevant human rights purpose as defined by the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act 2018 Section 1(f).
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
UK sanctions regimes are established through secondary legislation and are subject to Parliamentary oversight via the scrutiny processes set out in the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 ("SAMLA").
Ministers are also routinely held accountable for the UK's sanctions policy through select committees and Parliamentary Questions. The government will shortly publish a Post-Legislative Scrutiny Memorandum for SAMLA, following the publication of the UK's first sanctions strategy in February 2024.
In 2022, Parliament amended SAMLA to streamline some of the processes SAMLA originally established, including for reporting.
We have set out the UK government's approach to using sanctions as a foreign and security policy tool in our strategy published on 22 February (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/deter-disrupt-and-demonstrate-uk-sanctions-in-a-contested-world-uk-sanctions-strategy). The strategy explains how we continue to strengthen our sanctions to deter and disrupt malign activity and to protect the UK.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with the International Civil Aviation Organisation on changes to the M503, W122 and W123 flight paths in the Taiwan Strait.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK has regular discussions within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding the importance of communication and coordination in the protection of air safety, especially when it comes to changes to airspace such as this.
We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and have underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait alongside partners in previous G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' and Leaders' communiques.
The UK's longstanding policy on Taiwan has not changed. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recent changes to the M503, W122, and W123 flight paths around Taiwan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK has regular discussions within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding the importance of communication and coordination in the protection of air safety, especially when it comes to changes to airspace such as this.
We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and have underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait alongside partners in previous G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' and Leaders' communiques.
The UK's longstanding policy on Taiwan has not changed. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in China on changes to the M503, W122 and W123 flight paths around Taiwan Strait.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK has regular discussions within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding the importance of communication and coordination in the protection of air safety, especially when it comes to changes to airspace such as this.
We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and have underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait alongside partners in previous G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' and Leaders' communiques.
The UK's longstanding policy on Taiwan has not changed. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made on the implications for his policies of the press release of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights entitled, Hong Kong SAR: UN expert warns against admission of evidence, allegedly secured through torture, in Jimmy Lai case, published on 31 January 2024; and when he last made representations to the Hong Kong authorities on the Jimmy Lai case.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
We are aware of media reports and a submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Cruel, Inhumane, Degrading Treatment or Punishment alleging mistreatment of Andy Li while he was detained in mainland China. We take all allegations of torture and mistreatment very seriously and are looking into this further. Article 15 of the Convention against Torture, which China has ratified, prohibits the use of statements established to have been made as a result of torture in court proceedings. Diplomats from our Consulate-General are attending Mr Lai's court proceedings as the trial continues. The Foreign Secretary raised Jimmy Lai's case with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 5 December.