Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of reports that Microsoft has withdrawn services from the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, what steps they are taking to ensure that software services provided to public sector bodies by non-UK based companies cannot be unexpectedly withdrawn.

We are aware of media reports that Microsoft may have blocked the email account of Karim Khan, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in compliance with US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration. It is our understanding that Microsoft has strongly denied this action, it would therefore be in appropriate for us to comment further at this point in time, other than to note that we constantly keep our commercial relationships under review.