Point of Order

Stephen Doughty Excerpts

Monday 13th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. You will recall the urgent question that Mr Speaker kindly granted to the hon. Member for Worthing West (Sir Peter Bottomley) last week, so I regret to inform you that Bahrain’s highest court has today, via Instagram, announced confirmation of the death sentences against Mohammed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa, who were tortured. That is utterly unacceptable, and the risk that these sentences will be carried out is imminent. Not least given the UK’s direct support for the agencies implicated in the torture and forced confession of these men, and the fact that the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, the right hon. Member for Braintree (James Cleverly), said that he would speak “publicly and loudly” if the death sentences were confirmed today, have you had any notice of a statement from the Foreign Office on what it now plans to do? That might include raising this at the highest levels, including with the King, to urge clemency.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving me notice of this point of order about what is clearly a very distressing matter. I have not received notice of an oral statement on it, but I am sure that his request and his plea for action will have been heard by the Ministers on the Treasury Bench and will be passed back to appropriate Ministers.