Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will call upon the EU to impose stricter sanctions on European banks that facilitate North Korea’s nuclear programme.

We are working with other members of the UN Security Council in response to the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 6 January. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has pressed for the need for a robust response to this serious violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. While negotiations are on-going, any further measures that are agreed by the UN will be replicated by the EU and implemented through EU legislation.