Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has granted any Special Mission Immunity certificates to any (a) visitor or (b) prospective visitor since 1 January 2024.

Government officials from any country can apply for and be granted special mission certificates as part of official visits to the UK. As set out in a Written Ministerial Statement by the former Foreign Secretary dated 4 March 2013, a special mission is a temporary mission, representing a State, which is sent by one State to another with the consent of the latter, in order to carry out official engagements on behalf of the sending State. Since 1 January 2024, the FCDO has given consent and issued certificates to two special mission status visits to the UK for the following officials and their delegations:

· Mr Benny Gantz, Minister of the State of Israel on 6 March, visiting the then Foreign Secretary.

· Lieutenant General Herzl Halevi, Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.