Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has held recent discussions with her counterparts in Somaliland on restrictions on international media in that country, including the BBC.

The UK Government is committed to media freedom and freedom of expression; they are essential components of a democratic society.

Diminishing media freedom in Somaliland is evidenced by the growing number of arrests of journalists and the recent ban on the BBC. We regularly raise these issues at all levels with the Somaliland Government, including with the Somaliland Foreign Minister. We also continue to defend media freedom by encouraging the Somaliland Government to pass a stalled media law that would help secure greater protections for journalists and improve standards for journalism.