Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have conducted any investigations into the origin of the plastinated bodies from China exhibited in the Real Bodies exhibition displayed in Birmingham in 2018; if so, whether they were satisfied with the documentation presented to them; and if not, why not.

The British Government is aware of the technique to plastinate human bodies exported from China for exhibition and for medical research. We have not made inquiries with the Chinese or other governments on this matter but continue to monitor media coverage.

In the case of the exhibition in Birmingham, the UK Human Tissue Authority ensured that it met licensing standards, and licensed the exhibition in line with the law. We have no evidence to suggest that the exhibition contained the cadavers of political or other prisoners from China.