Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the government of Egypt about the protection of the rights of Al Jazeera journalists to a fair trial and to freedom of expression under international law.

The British Government is appalled by the sentences given to Egyptian and international journalists in Cairo on 23 June, two of whom were British Nationals. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), made a statement on 23 June expressing his concerns and urging the Egyptian government to demonstrate its commitment to freedom of expression by reviewing this case as a matter of urgency.

The Egyptian Ambassador, Ashraf el-Kholy, was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on 23 June. FCO Political Director, Simon Gass, told the Egyptian Ambassador that the British Government was deeply concerned by the verdicts, along with the procedural shortcomings seen during the trials. There is provision for freedom of expression contained in the Egyptian constitution and he asked that the Egyptian authorities review the sentences against this standard.

The UK believes that a free and robust press is the bedrock of democracy and we will continue to raise this case with the Egyptian authorities.