Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the state of (a) civil and (b) political rights in Malta.

The UK Government welcomes Prime Minister Abela's commitment to further strengthening civil and political rights in Malta. These commitments include enhancing media freedom protections, and strengthening the rule of law. The Foreign Secretary signed a new UK-Malta Bilateral Cooperation Framework on 10 February that underscores the UK's commitment to work with Malta on a range of related interests. This includes supporting the Maltese Government's plans to act on the recommendations of the inquiry into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Whilst in Malta, the Foreign Secretary also met Daphne Caruana Galizia's family to discuss progress on the protection of Media Freedom globally.