Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many requests for consular assistance have been received from British (a) nationals and (b) residency holders in Sudan since 30 April 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Consular Contact Centre received 7,342 calls about Sudan between Friday 15 April and 11:00 on 4 May, although some of these will have been multiple calls concerning the same consular case.
British nationals still in Sudan should sign up for Travel Advice alerts. We continue to communicate with British nationals through our Travel Advice and other targeted communications with those who have registered with us.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many requests for consular support his Department has received from people claiming to employees of the NHS in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Consular Contact Centre received 7,342 calls about Sudan between Friday 15 April and 11:00 on 4 May, although some of these will have been multiple calls concerning the same consular case. We do not keep a log of requests for consular support made according to occupation - this includes NHS staff.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any (a) British nationals and (b) nationals holding British residency have been taken hostage in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have been made aware of one British (dual national) who was detained in Sudan since the outbreak of violence - they were later released and returned on one of our evacuation flights. The UK Government continues to provide consular assistance to British nationals still in Sudan.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of safe and legal routes currently available to refugees fleeing Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Our priority has been the safe evacuation of British nationals and their eligible dependants from Sudan - since 25 April the UK has supported the departure of 2,450 people, including British nationals, dependants, and other eligible nationals.
The UK's current refugee resettlement schemes allow us to support the most vulnerable refugees direct from regions of conflict and instability. The safe and legal entry routes include resettlement, which includes United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) schemes (UK Resettlement scheme, mandate scheme, and community sponsorship) and family reunion visas.
On 4 May, the UK Government announced an initial £5 million allocation which will help to provide urgent assistance to tens of thousands of refugees and returnees in South Sudan and Chad fleeing violence in Sudan.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he had with his international counterparts on securing the ceasefire in Sudan announced on 25 April 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are pursuing all diplomatic avenues to end the violence and de-escalate tensions. The Foreign Secretary and Minister Mitchell are in regular touch working with international partners to engage all parties in Sudan. We have led calls with the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, regional groupings and the UN Security Council to discuss the situation and coordinate a response.
In a public statement by the Quad (KSA, UK,US, UAE) and the Trilateral Mechanism (AU, UN and Governmental Authority on Development) we have publicly welcomed the extension of the ceasefire by 72 hours. This initial stage of diplomacy, establishing a process to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities, will help ensure unimpeded humanitarian access.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the proportion of British nationals it will be possible to evacuate from Sudan before the ceasefire in that country ends.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The safety of all British nationals in Sudan continues to be our priority. The Consular Contact Centre has received 4,121 calls (as of 18:00 26 April) since Friday 15 April, although some of these will represent multiple calls concerning the same consular case.
So far around 3,400 British nationals have registered their presence with the Foreign Office Crisis Hub. [correct as of 00:00 28 April]. We do not collect data on where nationals come from within the UK.
Since 25 April we have assisted the departure of 895 (as of 05:00 28 April) British nationals through flights to Cyprus. We will continue to evacuate British nationals from Sudan as the situation allows.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many requests for consular support his Department has received from British nationals in Sudan since 15 April 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The safety of all British nationals in Sudan continues to be our priority. The Consular Contact Centre has received 4,121 calls (as of 18:00 26 April) since Friday 15 April, although some of these will represent multiple calls concerning the same consular case.
So far around 3,400 British nationals have registered their presence with the Foreign Office Crisis Hub. [correct as of 00:00 28 April]. We do not collect data on where nationals come from within the UK.
Since 25 April we have assisted the departure of 895 (as of 05:00 28 April) British nationals through flights to Cyprus. We will continue to evacuate British nationals from Sudan as the situation allows.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many officials from his Department are located in Sudan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We have temporarily closed the British Embassy Khartoum. We have established a temporary presence through small teams of staff deployed in Sudan supporting the evacuation operation. We are severely restricted in our ability to provide in-person or in-country consular support.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which Member States of the United Nations did not have at least one Diplomatic Service Officer present in the UK on 1 March 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the London Diplomatic List published on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-embassies-in-the-uk).
The London Diplomatic List contains the names, addresses and contact details of all embassies and high commissions with diplomatic representation in the UK. The list also includes Honorary Consular representatives of countries not represented by a Diplomatic Mission in London. The page also includes:
- A list of heads of mission in order of precedence, including the date of appointment and details of the role.
- A list of consular offices outside London including Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of devices owned by his Department that have TikTok installed.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Departments are required to manage all applications and services on their networks, taking into account security and data protection risks.
Authorisation and approval for the use of any individual application is subject to Departmental security policies and procedures. With regards to the threat to national security His Majesty's Government does not comment on these matters.