Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what representations he made to his counterpart in the Thai Government on the imposition of a 10 million Baht fine on Andy Hall for damages to Natural Fruit Co Ltd. following his civil defamation conviction.

​I am aware of the civil court order issued on 26 March by Prakhanong Court, calling for Mr Andy Hall to pay 10 million Thai baht in damages to Natural Fruit. We have not raised this court order with the Thai authorities as legal proceedings are ongoing.

We remain in contact with Mr Hall, and have taken action to support him and the important issues he works on, including by raising these with the Thai authorities. We will continue to do so. The UK government supports the right of human rights defenders to carry out their work without fear of harassment or reprisals. We also support full implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.