Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Moroccan counterparts on ensuring the immediate safe return of British nationals from Moroccan airports unable to return to the UK as a result of most outbound flights from Morocco having been suspended due to the covid-19 outbreak.

We are working intensively with the Governments of those countries that have closed their borders to people travelling to and from the UK, to enable airlines to bring back British people to the UK, if that is what they want. I spoke to the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, on 18 March to ask for additional flights to enter and leave Morocco. The British Embassy in Rabat has been working with tour operators and airlines to encourage them to offer additional flights, last week we facilitated 49 flights, taking 8,520 passengers to the UK. The welfare of British nationals remains our top priority, and we are focused on supporting those around the world who are being affected by the restrictions being put in place.