Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when her Department last published a report on religious persecution in Myanmar; and for what reason the frequency of such reports has reduced.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not produce reports on religious persecution in Myanmar.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will provide the Intelligence and Security Committee with (a) correspondence and (b) a list of engagements between (i) Peter Mandelson, and (ii) other advisers to and (iii) representatives of (A) the British, (B) United States, and (C) Mauritian Governments concerning the future of the Chagos Islands, during the period in which Peter Mandelson served as British Ambassador to the United States.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on the 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament's instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to pause the passage of the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill until after the (a) release and (b) full assessment of the Peter Mandelson files by the Intelligence and Security Committee.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill is essential for the protection of the UK's national security. Timings will be announced in the usual way.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the representations made by the Government to the Chinese authorities (a) before and (b) since the imposition of the 20-year prison sentence on Jimmy Lai; and what undertakings were sought and received about Jimmy Lai during the Prime Minister's visit to China.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the responses given in the Urgent Question debate on 9 February. We will continue to update the House on Jimmy Lai's case.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she (a) has taken and (b) intends to take to persuade (i) India and (ii) China to cease providing armaments to the Burmese military regime; and for what reason that regime's military attache has been permitted to remain in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK regularly raises the Myanmar crisis with China and other neighbouring countries, including at the UN Security Council (UNSC). Most recently, in December 2025, the UK convened a UNSC meeting, where we condemned military airstrikes against civilians. A summary is available on gov.uk at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/elections-under-the-current-circumstances-in-myanmar-risk-provoking-further-violence-uk-statement-on-myanmar

UK sanctions include a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar, and our 19th round of sanctions in 2024 targeted companies involved in the procurement of aviation fuel and equipment to the Myanmar Armed Forces. As a long-standing policy, we do not speculate on further enforcement action, or comment on individual personnel.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of differences between the (a) former State Administrative Council and (b) current State Security and Peace Commission in Myanmar as instruments of the Burmese military regime; and for what policy reason the sanctioning of the former body has not been carried forward to apply to its successor.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government uses sanctions to achieve a range of foreign and security policy objectives. We consider designations under our sanctions regimes, including the Myanmar Sanctions Regulations, as guided by the evidence and the objectives of the sanctions regime. It would not be appropriate to speculate about future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the Rt hon. Member for New Forest East during the Oral Statement of 22 May 2025 on Diego Garcia Military Base, Official Report, column 1291, if it remains his position that the most proximate and most potentially serious legal threat that could undermine the operations of the Diego Garcia military base is an adverse ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

We have always been clear that, if a long-term deal was not reached, there was a risk of further litigation being brought rapidly which could have had serious implications for the operation of the military base on Diego Garcia.

There are various avenues through which Mauritius could pursue a legally binding ruling, including under dispute provisions of treaties to which both States are parties or further arbitral proceedings against the UK under Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS"). A ruling from such an arbitral tribunal would be legally binding on the parties to it.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the utility of the provisions of Article 298 of UNCLOS for protecting UK interests in a territorial dispute within the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea in respect of (a) the Falkland Islands, (b) Gibraltar and (c) any other British Overseas Territory.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 12 February 2026 in response to Question 109960.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2026 to Question 113435 on BBC Monitoring: Finance, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of restoring dedicated funding for BBC Monitoring by her Department.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As stated in previous answers, the Government does not provide core funding for BBC Monitoring which is a matter for the BBC. However, when specific pieces of work are commissioned by Government, they are fully funded.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason Question 113434 on UNCLOS and the Chagos Islands, tabled on 12 February for answer on 25 February 2026, has not been answered; and when he plans to answer it.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

I responded to the right hon. Member on 4 March 2026.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what procedures will apply to enable access by the Intelligence and Security Committee to such documentation necessary to fulfil the duties placed upon it n relation to dealings between Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer you to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12th February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on the 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process for complying with the Humble Address motion. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason Questions 113021 and 113433 on UNCLOS and the Chagos Islands, tabled on 12 February for answer on 24 and 25 February 2026 respectively, have not been answered; and when she plans to answer them.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 110708, whether she plans to derogate from Article 298 of UNCLOS.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK already made a declaration pursuant to Article 298 of UNCLOS. This does not however affect our assessment on the risks to the UK-US base on Diego Garcia. I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer cited in his question.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many applications were made by (a) Chagossians and (b) other nationalities to visit the British Indian Ocean Territory in each of the last 5 years; and how many of those applications were accepted.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration is responsible for immigration matters in BIOT.

The last Heritage Visit for Chagossians to visit the Archipelago took place in February 2020, and was attended by 27 Chagossians. Heritage visits were paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and during treaty negotiations with Mauritius. The Government acknowledges the importance of heritage visits to the Chagossian community and is working to reinstate these as soon as possible.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the last trip was organised by the Government to the British Indian Ocean Territory for Chagossians to visit their homeland; and how many Chagossians participated in that visit.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration is responsible for immigration matters in BIOT.

The last Heritage Visit for Chagossians to visit the Archipelago took place in February 2020, and was attended by 27 Chagossians. Heritage visits were paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and during treaty negotiations with Mauritius. The Government acknowledges the importance of heritage visits to the Chagossian community and is working to reinstate these as soon as possible.

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Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his statement of 22 May 2025 on Diego Garcia Military Base, Official Report, Column 1284, if he will provide the basis for his comments that the UK would face legal rulings within weeks.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 March 2026 to Question 116019 to the hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis).