Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his counterparts in the People’s Republic of China on the expulsion of the British press corps from the room in which Xi Jinping and the Prime Minister were meeting in Rio de Janeiro on November 18 2024.

Members of the press were present at the start of the meeting between the Prime Minister and President Xi Jingping on November 18. It is standard practice in diplomatic meetings for the press to remain in the room for opening remarks only, as was the case when the PM met President Biden in September. The subsequent, private, conversation allows space for honest and frank discussion.