Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with the government of Egypt on reports concerning the prohibition of books and exercise to prisoners in maximum security prisons in that country.

As part of our human rights work in Egypt, we focus on lobbying to end pre-trial detention and improving prison conditions in Egypt. On human rights more broadly, the Foreign Secretary raised human rights in her first meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry in New York on 20 September. Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, James Cleverly, also raised human rights with Foreign Minister Shoukry and met human rights activists during his recent visit to Cairo. We welcome Egypt's new human rights strategy.