Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the final report of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians.

We are grateful to the Bishop for setting out ambitious recommendations. The report has identified specific steps the British Government can take to address the issues faced by persecuted Christians around the world. I am pleased to confirm that the government has accepted the recommendations in full and work will now begin to implement them. This work will include exploring how best to deliver a new Security Council Resolution on protecting Christians in North Africa and the Middle East; and sanctioning those who persecute people for holding a religion or belief.