Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the intellectual property of sports bodies is protected from piracy; what plans he has to investigate the potential commercial effect of the activities of the Saudi-based pirate broadcaster beoutQ on the UK's creative industries; and if he will make a statement.

Officials in the Intellectual Property Office work closely with their counterparts in the Department for International Trade work, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on matters relating to the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights around the world.

Government Ministers and HM Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have raised this matter with the Saudi Arabian Government and will continue to make representations about any alleged broadcast infringement activities of UK IP.

We understand broadcasting piracy in Saudi Arabia, through the pirate operator beoutQ, has now stopped. This followed pressure by the UK, the US, European countries, and major sports rights holders.

The Government will continue to with the UK creative industries to try to understand the commercial effect of the alleged piracy by beoutQ.