Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has made personally to her Indian counterpart on the four-year incarceration of British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal; and whether officials in her Department have, in any of their communication with the Indian authorities, have described the incarceration as arbitrary detention.

The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations very seriously, and we regularly raise Mr Johal's case directly with the Government of India at official and Ministerial level. The Foreign Secretary last raised Mr Johal's case with the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on 22 October 2021. This Government will continue to look to raise our concerns, including allegations that Mr Johal's detention is arbitrary, at all appropriate opportunities.