Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide support to other governments in tackling the threat of kidnapping by terrorist organisations.

The UK has driven agreement internationally to combat kidnapping by terrorists. Following G8 agreement under the UK presidency in 2013, we have sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 2133 and led on EU Foreign Affairs Council conclusions on kidnap for ransom. These agreements included commitments to co-operate closely during incidents of hostage taking.

The UK has considerable experience in responding to terrorist kidnaps. We make the benefits of that experience available to other countries in a number of ways, including best practice sharing bilaterally and through fora like the Global Counter Terrorism Forum. We have provided training on kidnap response to affected governments.