Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 901670, what recent reports he has received on the imprisonment of Karl Andree in Saudi Arabia; what steps he is taking to secure the return to the UK of Mr Andree; and what recent discussions he has had with his Saudi counterpart on improving extradition arrangements with that country.

Ministers and senior officials raised Mr Andree’s case with the Saudi Government repeatedly since he completed his sentence in August 2015.

I am pleased to be able to say that yesterday morning the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, my righ hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) was informed that the public prosecutor is now in the final stages of completing the necessary processes that will lead to Mr Andree’s release and return to the UK. We expect this to be within the next week.

In regard to extradition arrangements, Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.