Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the letter sent to the Prime Minister on 11 November 2022 by 12 members of both Houses of Parliament on elections in Bahrain, if he will take steps to call upon Bahrain to (a) release opposition leaders, political prisoners and death row inmates and (b) repeal political isolation laws; and if he will make it his policy not to recognise the outcome of Bahrain’s elections.

The Government has taken note of the letter in question. Parliamentary elections took place in Bahrain on 12 and 19 November, which were peaceful and were monitored by local NGOs and civil society groups. The UK draws on a number of sources of information when determining its approach in Bahrain and elsewhere. Ministers and officials have regular discussions with senior Bahraini counterparts on human rights, including on specific cases, most recently during the Foreign Secretary's meetings with HRH the Crown Prince and the Foreign Minister of Bahrain in November in Manama.