Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the publication of the Reporters Without Borders 2020 World Press Freedom Index which saw Bahrain drop to 169 out of 180 countries, a fall of two places since last year and five places since 2017, what assessment they have made of the state of press freedom in Bahrain; and whether any such assessment will impact their provision of technical assistance to that country.

We take note of a number of sources of information when assessing a country's performance. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to protect freedom of expression for all of its citizens. We have not provided technical assistance to Bahrain in this area.