Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of (a) Saudi-based pirate broadcaster beoutQ and (b) piracy more widely, on the value of exports from the UK’s creative industries; and if she will make a statement.

Officials in the Department for International Trade work closely with their counterparts in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Intellectual Property Office on matters relating to the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights around the world.

Government ministers and our Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have raised this matter with the Saudi Arabian government and will continue to make representations about any alleged broadcast infringement activities of UK IP.

We understand broadcasting piracy in Saudi Arabia, through the pirate operator beoutQ, has now stopped. This followed pressure by the UK, the US, European countries, and major sports rights holders.

We remain vigilant for any further instances of illegal use of UK-owned intellectual property rights across all industries and will continue to raise these issues in territories where protection is not upheld.