Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports that Tamil political prisoners have been on hunger strike in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

We noted that on 17 November the hunger strike by Tamil detainees was temporarily suspended until 15 December. We regularly raise matters of concern with the Sri Lankan government, including the detention of prisoners without trial. Our policy is unchanged and we remain committed to working closely with the Sri Lankan government and international partners to support the implementation of the commitments made by Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in September, and in the UN Human Rights Council resolution of 1 October.