Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking diplomatic steps in response to allegations of torture against Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain.

We continue to follow matters that relate to human rights within Bahrain closely and are aware of these historic allegations. The allegations were previously brought to the attention of the Metropolitan Police Service, which concluded that there was insufficient evidence to proceed. We take allegations or issues about torture and mistreatment very seriously and urge all allegations to be reported to the appropriate national oversight body whose duty it is to carry out full and independent investigations. We continue to encourage the oversight bodies to carry out swift and thorough investigations into any such claims.