Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions officials in her Department have had with their Saudi Arabian counterparts on that country's role in the operation of the pirate broadcaster beoutQ and the effect of that pirate broadcasting on exports of UK sports international broadcast rights.

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.