Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to review its consular and embassy arrangements in Libya.

Our Embassy in Tripoli has been temporarily closed since 6 August, due to ongoing fighting and instability. We advise against all travel to Libya and are not currently able to provide consular services in Libya. A small team of British diplomats focused on relations with Libya are currently working from our Embassy in Tunis, as well as a team in London. Our core diplomatic activity also includes the work of the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, Jonathan Powell, who is continuing to work with the UN on the ground in Libya to pursue mediation efforts to agree a negotiated political settlement, which offers the best hope of stability for the country. We are keeping these arrangements under constant review, and the safety and security of our staff is paramount. We will review re-opening our Embassy in Libya when the security situation has sufficiently stabilised.