Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey about the dismissal of elected mayors and other officials in Kurdish majority areas of Turkey and the accusations of malpractice by their replacements.

The decision to appoint state trustees in local municipalities is a decision for the Turkish Government. Nevertheless, we expect Turkey to undertake any legal processes against locally elected representatives fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law. We note the suspension of the mayors of Mardin, Van and Diyarbakir on 19 August. We are following these ongoing legal developments closely. Our Ambassador raised this with the Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister on 22 August.