Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department takes steps to ensure that the credentials of foreign diplomats posted to the UK do not have military records linking those diplomats to suspected war crimes.

Diplomatic agents, Administrative and Technical (A&T) and service staff posted to foreign diplomatic missions in the UK are appointed freely by sending States in line with Article 7 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR). Heads of Mission and Defence Attaché positions require the UK's express agreement prior to arriving. This process confirms, or otherwise, the acceptability of a Head of Mission or a Defence Attaché. Comparable arrangements are in place for consular staff appointed to the UK under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR), under which HMG requires prior agreement for Heads of consular posts.