Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how often between 1 January 2010 and 1 January 2016 requests for diplomatic status or immunity were refused, and on what grounds.

A small number of requests for diplomatic status or immunity from members of the public have been received by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and subsequently refused. However, statistics and details are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. It is incumbent on the sending State to inform the FCO of the appointment of staff, including diplomats, to any of its missions in the UK. The FCO is not required to give explicit consent to such appointments, except in the case of heads of mission and military, naval and air attaches.