Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government who authorised the cancellation of the High Commissioner to Mauritius' annual party to mark Her Majesty the Queen's official birthday on 4 June; and why that party was cancelled.

Queen's Birthday Parties are a celebration of Her Majesty The Queen's Birthday. They are an opportunity to celebrate the relationships between the UK and other countries.

Coming so soon after the unjustified and incendiary remarks made about the UK by the Mauritian Prime Minister at the United Nations General Assembly, it would not have been appropriate to have held one this year. A decision to cancel Her Majesty The Queen's Birthday Party was taken at Ministerial level.

We have no doubt about our sovereignty over British Indian Ocean Territory, which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. We have made a long-standing commitment to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. We stand by that commitment.