Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Policy paper entitled UK and Palestinian strategic cooperation: memorandum of understanding’ published on 28 April 2025, what steps he is taking to discuss (a) freedom of expression, (b) media freedom and (c) civil liberties with the Palestinian Authority.

The UK supports the Palestinian Authority's (PA) commitment to delivering its ambitious and necessary 'National Program for Development and Reform'. As part of the UK-PA Memorandum of Understanding (UK-PA MoU), the PA underlined the importance of democratic renewal, and committed to advancing this through widening freedom of expression, media freedom and civil liberties. As part of the UK-PA MoU, the PA committed to delivering its reforms as a matter of priority, and we continue to engage the PA on the delivery of these reforms.