Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the French Government's support for Mauritius' claim to sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory on UK national security.

France continues to be a valued and longstanding ally and security partner for the UK. The French Government has a longstanding approach to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) which has not changed since our last assessment.