Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the influence of ISIS in Yemen; and what steps his Department is taking with regional allies to curb that influence.

We remain concerned by the terrorist threat in Yemen, including the presence of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Daesh-Yemen. Long term instability increases the risk that terrorist groups continue to exploit the deteriorating situation to consolidate their support base and capabilities.

Throughout 2015, we saw an expansion of Daesh-Yemen, albeit starting from a small base. We judge that they remain a threat to UK strategic interests in the region, rather than a direct threat to the UK. We continue to work with regional partners to tackle the terrorist threat from Yemen. For operational reasons we cannot comment in detail on this activity.