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 representatives of the (a) Government of Malaysia and (b) the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on the progress of investigations into the death of Kim Jong Nam in Kuala Lumpur on 13 February 2017; and what information his Department holds on claims by the Government of Malaysia that traces of VX nerve agent were found on the body of the deceased.

Our High Commission in Malaysia has discussed the death of Kim Jong Nam with the Malaysian authorities. We have encouraged the Government of Malaysia to pursue a thorough investigation and to share information with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

The Malaysian authorities have previously reported finding VX in samples from the deceased and received assistance in their investigations in the form of technical materials from the OPCW. At the Executive Council meeting of the OPCW on 10 October, the UK Delegation to the OPCW raised the issue of the use of VX in Malaysia in February, encouraging Malaysia to continue to inform the Council on the progress of investigations. We welcome Malaysia's statement at the OPCW on 10 October about the prosecution of 2 individuals, and the information that Interpol has been notified of further foreign suspects in the ongoing investigation.