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 the Nigerian Government on progress towards cleaning up oil pollution in the Niger Delta.

We are concerned that work on the Ogoniland clean-up has not started, but note that the contracts for clean-up have been awarded. In our regular engagement with all levels of Federal and State Government in Nigeria, and with executive bodies, we have encouraged the clean-up of Ogoniland to start in line with the 2011 United Nations Environmental Programme report. The British Government will continue to encourage the process to be transparent and open, and engage all partners to play their part in the clean-up of all areas affected by oil pollution.