Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of protests outside military bases and headquarters in Brasilia and in Brazilian states following the election victory of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The UK has consistently made clear its firm hope that the entire country of Brazil, including all candidates and political parties, respect core democratic principles, electoral processes and the election result.  The Prime Minister and I publicly congratulated President-elect Luis Inácio Lula da Silva following his election victory. We look forward to the UK and Brazil working together as we continue to strengthen our historic partnership.