Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of Malta on establishing a public inquiry to determine what the Maltese authorities (a) knew and (b) ought to have known of the real and immediate risk to the life of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

​I share the right honourable member's concern to see justice in the case of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The decision to establish a public inquiry is, nevertheless, a matter for the Maltese Government, who have said that a parliamentary inquiry could take place once the ongoing judicial process has been concluded. The UK is committed to the defence of the freedom of expression and the Foreign Secretary has launched a Media Freedom campaign on this very issue, and is keen to work with all international partners to support the safety and protection of journalists worldwide.