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 India on behalf of the six ex-Army personnel being held in Chennai Jail.

As we have throughout this case, we continue to raise the case with the Indian authorities at all levels. The case was most recently raised by the Prime Minister with Indian Prime Minister Modi at the G20 in Hamburg last week.

We understand the impact the separation of six families is having and how the wait for a verdict is increasing the stress and financial strain on them. We make that point when we raise the case with the Indian authorities. However, we cannot interfere in what is an ongoing legal process, just as we would not allow another country to interfere in an ongoing court case in the United Kingdom.

While we await a verdict our High Commission in India remains in close contact with the men's legal team in India and in the UK, and our focus continues to be on the men's welfare and the support we can provide to their families.