Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of alleged misinformation from India on diaspora communities in the UK.

India and the UK have a broad and deep relationship. The unique Living Bridge, including a 1.9 million-strong Indian diaspora in the UK, connects our countries and people across culture, education, food, sport and more. The UK Government is committed to media freedom. An independent and responsible media is an essential feature of robust democracies. We are conscious that mis/disinformation overseas can be picked up by diaspora communities in the UK. This is one reason we support independent media reporting and engage with legitimate concerns in the UK and globally around the ramifications of online hate speech and polarisation. These are issues that we work alongside partners, including India, to address.