Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Commonwealth Secretariat and his Commonwealth counterparts on the political and security situation in Zimbabwe.

I attended the EU-AU Ministerial meeting in Brussels on January 21 where I discussed a range of issues, including Zimbabwe, with counterparts. I will continue to raise the political and security situation in Zimbabwe with key interlocutors, including those from Commonwealth states.

I have not had any recent discussions with the Commonwealth Secretariat but officials from the FCO and DFID remain in regular contact. The UK would not support Zimbabwe's membership of the Commonwealth at this time because of credible reports of human rights violations by the security forces.