Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government from which organisations they receive open source intelligence, in addition to that provided by the BBC monitoring service.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in common with other Government departments, receives a wide range of free and paid-for open source information. FCO Staff have, for example, access to books (electronic and hard copy), news and social media, subscription services for journals and academia, and output from think tanks and research organisations.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the consequences for the proliferation of nuclear weapons of the underground test of a nuclear device by North Korea on 6 January.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK strongly condemns the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 6 January, in clear violation of UN Security Council Resolutions and international norms. This provocation endangers regional and international security. We are currently working with other UN Security Council members on further measures in a new Resolution, while continuing to urge the rigorous implementation of sanctions by the international community.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) UK embassies, and (2) UK consular offices, have been closed since 6 May 2010, and where those closures took place.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), has not closed any Embassies over this period. Operations were suspended in Tehran, Damascus, Tripoli and Sana’a for security reasons. Tehran re-opened in August 2015.
The FCO currently has 268 posts (Embassies, Consulates-General, Consulates, Multilateral Missions and Trade and Investment Offices – Consular Offices are not classed as posts) worldwide. Since 2010 we have opened nine posts: in Juba (South Sudan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), San Salvador (El Salvador), Seattle (USA), Vientiane (Laos), Mogadishu (Somalia), Port au Prince (Haiti), Asuncion (Paraguay) and Wuhan (China). We have also upgraded eight posts: in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Antananarivo (Madagascar), Calgary (Canada), Monrovia (Liberia), Recife (Brazil), Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad (India).
Since 2010, we have closed the following Consulates and Consular Offices in Europe and elsewhere:
2010: One: Consulate-General Geneva, Switzerland
2011: Three: Consulate-General Lille, France; Consulate-General Venice, Italy; Consulate Florence, Italy
2012: Three: Consulate-General Basra, Iraq; Consulate Funchal, Portugal; Consular Office Oporto, Portugal
2013: Four: Consulate Pattaya, Thailand; Consular Office, Thessaloniki, Greece; Consular Office, Andorra; Consular Office Willemstad, Curaçao
2014: Two: Consular Offices in Cali and Cartagena, Colombia. The FCO also withdrew its Provincial Reconstruction Team from Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan
2015: Two: Consulate Chiang Mai, Thailand; Consular Office Bodrum, Turkey.
The FCO downgraded the following Consulates-General and Consulates to Trade and Investment Offices since 2010:
2012: Two: Consulate-General Lyon, France; Consulate Naples, Italy
2014: One: Consulate Bilbao, Spain.
Since 2010, we have developed new technology and new ways of working that has enabled us to deliver services differently in some areas. We now have three Consular Contact Centres that take calls from all consular customers, and are able to support around 80 per cent of those calling without further escalation to post, helping to ensure that Consular staff in-country are able to focus their time on those most in need of help. Some services have also been centralised, with customers able to access them by post, and increasingly through digital channels.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on (a) real name registration on online platforms such as Weibo and (b) other aspects of internet freedom.
Answered by Lord Swire
We continue to be concerned by restrictions to internet freedoms in China, particularly in relation to freedom of expression. We are aware of new laws requiring real name registration on online platforms such as Weibo, and are concerned that increasing numbers of foreign websites are being blocked. We believe that the internet provides an unparalleled opportunity for communication between governments and citizens, and is vital for creativity and the development of a knowledge-driven economy.
We highlighted the issues of real name registration in our September 2014 update to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy. The report and its updates record the range of our concerns. We last raised our detailed concerns about internet freedoms with Chinese authorities during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in May 2014.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Malaysia on the conviction on 9 February 2015 of Anwar Ibrahim; when he next plans to visit that country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
I visited Malaysia from 25-26 February and met the Malaysian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, YB Dato’ Hamzah Zainudin, as well as a number of other Malaysian Ministers. I repeated the points made in my statement of 10 February, the day the judgement of Anwar Ibrahim was announced, in which I made clear my concern at the Malaysian Federal Court’s decision to uphold his conviction for sodomy. I also met Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, Vice President of opposition party PKR, during my visit.
I have previously raised my concerns about the case with the Malaysian High Commissioner, on 4 December. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), also raised this issue when he met Malaysia’s Foreign Minister on 9 December. Officials from our High Commission in Malaysia have discussed the matter with Malaysian ministers and officials on several occasions, and officials from the High Commission observed the trial alongside other local diplomatic missions.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the government of Turkey regarding their support for the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Kobane.
Answered by David Lidington
We regularly discuss developments in Syria with the Turkish government, including on the status of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). The Turkish government regard PYD as an affiliate of the proscribed terrorist organisation, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Turkey has been clear with the PYD that they need to demonstrate that they are part of the moderate opposition and continue to urge them to co-operate with the National Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the government of Turkey on combatting ISIL.
Answered by David Lidington
We maintain a regular dialogue at all levels with the Turkish government on the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed cooperation against ISIL with the Turkish Foreign Minister when they spoke on 9 October 2014. Since then, the Turkish President has made clear Turkey’s commitment to support international efforts to tackle the threat posed by ISIL.
Turkey is already making a valuable contribution to the international campaign against ISIL through use of its airspace and its airbases for reconnaissance and humanitarian support. We also value greatly Turkey’s generosity in hosting almost two million refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the government of Russia about reports of heavy weapons, ammunition and personnel entering Ukraine from Russia.
Answered by David Lidington
I met the Russian Ambassador on 11 September and called on Russia to take immediate steps to end the violence, particularly to stop its supply of armour, weapons and personnel across the border and to withdraw all personnel and military equipment it has already delivered.
At the G20 Summit in Brisbane, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), joined other international leaders in calling on Russia to respect the Minsk agreements, including the requirement to withdraw illegal armed groups, military equipment and militants and mercenaries from Ukraine. The Prime Minister also made clear that if Russia did not, we remained ready to intensify sanctions.
At the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 17 November the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and his EU counterparts urged all parties to fully implement the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum swiftly and without further delay, and once again underlined the Russian Federation's responsibility in this context.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Turkey about (a) relations with Kurds in the region and (b) the Kurdistan Workers' Party; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Lidington
We maintain a regular dialogue with the Turkish government on relations with the Kurds in the region. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed the situation in Kobane and the PKK with the Turkish Foreign Minister when they spoke on 9 October.
We value greatly Turkey’s generosity in hosting over 190,000 refugees that have fled the fighting in Kobane, in addition to the 1.6 million refugees from Syria and Iraq already residing in Turkey. The Department for International Development has already responded to the urgent needs of Syrian Kurdish refugees that have fled to Turkey, and remains ready to react swiftly to further developments.
We also welcome continued efforts by the Turkish government to take forward the Kurdish peace process, including through the introduction of legislation addressing minority rights and consultation with civil society. The UK stands ready to help in any way we can.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2014 to Question 210318, on what date the Embassy informed the Saudi government of the investigation; and by what means it did so.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The British Embassy in Riyadh informed the Saudi Arabian government of the Serious Fraud Office's investigation into GPT Special Project Management Ltd during a meeting on 8 August 2012.