Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile on plans for a Formula One race in Saudi Arabia and the human rights record of that country.

The UK has not made any representations to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) about plans for a Formula One race in Saudi Arabia, as this is a matter between the FIA and the Saudi Arabian Government. The UK and Saudi Arabia have a longstanding bilateral relationship, based on a number of pillars including trade; investment; defence; security; energy; and shared concerns about regional issues. No aspect of our relationship with Saudi Arabia prevents us from speaking frankly about human rights. We raise concerns regularly with the Saudi Arabian authorities through Ministerial and diplomatic channels, including our Ambassador and our Embassy in Riyadh.