Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answers of 1 April 2025 to question 41654 on Trade: Occupied Territories and Western Sahara, if he will update that guidance to include the need for consent to comply with international law.

The UK keeps its overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, relating to Western Sahara and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) under review and will update it as necessary to reflect relevant international law considerations.

The UK is clear that Israel's illegal settlements and decisions designed to further them are a flagrant violation of international law. The business risk guidance on OPTs states there are clear risks to UK operators related to economic and financial activities in the settlements. We discourage such activity and advise that those contemplating any economic or financial involvement in settlements should seek appropriate legal advice.