Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians; what progress he has been made on naming the phenomenon of Christian discrimination and persecution.

​Rehman Chishti MP, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, is overseeing the implementation of the recommendations from the Bishop of Truro’s Review. Work has begun to implement the recommendations in a way that will bring real improvements in the lives of those persecuted because of their faith or belief. On naming the phenomenon of Christian discrimination and persecution, we believe that a definition is best agreed upon by the Christian communities themselves. If a term is agreed, we will consider how it might add value to our work on freedom of religion or belief.