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 his Egyptian counterpart on human rights violations in that country.

I raised our human rights concerns with Ministerial interlocutors in the Egyptian Government during my trade mission to Egypt in January. This included a wide-ranging discussion with the Prime Minister of Egypt where I was clear that the UK Government wanted to see the rule of law, transparency and respect for human rights strengthened in Egypt. I also met the Minister of Defence and stressed the importance of taking into account the social and economic development needs of the local population when tackling genuine security threats in the Sinai.

I also regularly discuss human rights with the Egyptian Ambassador in London. Most recently, on 4 February I raised strong concerns about the case of 183 individuals who had their death sentences confirmed by an Egyptian court. I stressed the importance of respecting the human rights of defendants in all cases.

We continue to believe that stability and prosperity in Egypt is dependent on open and inclusive politics and on full respect for the rights contained in the Egyptian constitution. That is why in recent months Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have asked the Egyptian authorities to take action to release journalists and political detainees who remain imprisoned, to review mass judicial decisions, and to remove restrictions on civil society.