---

Press Releases

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many press releases have been issued by his Department in each month of 2002. [59499]

Mr. Straw: The number of press bulletins issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the period specified is:

	Number
January	40
February	37
March	39
April	45
May	49
June	1

The figures include a daily bulletin of ministerial engagements and announcements and other press releases. The daily bulletin may contain a number of announcements. All Foreign Office press releases, including statements and speeches by Ministers, can be read on our website at www.fco.gov.uk.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many press releases were issued by his Department (a) in each month between May and December 1997 and (b) in each year from 1998 to 2001 inclusive. [59498]

Mr. Straw: The number of press bulletins issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the period specified is:

	Number
1997
May	59
June	49
July	48
August	29
September	51
October	55
November	45
December	45
1998
January	38
February	33
March	58
April	35
May	34
June	27
July	37
August	29
September	31
October	37
November	27
December	28
1999
January	47
February	53
March	65
April	76
May	51
June	59
July	59
August	29
September	39
October	48
November	40
December	29
2000
January	32
February	29
March	41
April	32
May	36
June	39
July	42
August	24
September	54
October	46
November	36
December	33
2001
January	29
February	28
March	39
April	30
May	24
June	31
July	30
August	9
September	35
October	34
November	39
December	35

The figures include a daily bulletin of ministerial engagements and announcements and other press releases. The daily bulletin may contain a number of announcements. All Foreign Office press releases, including statements and speeches by Ministers, can be read on our website at www.fco.gov.uk.

12 Jun 2002 : Column 1272W

Regulatory Impact Unit

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people his Department employs in its regulatory impact unit; and if he will make a statement. [59874]

Mr. Straw: As a non-regulatory Department, the FCO does not have a dedicated regulatory impact unit. Issues relating to regulatory impact are dealt with by a member of FCO staff as part of his overall duties.

Hawk Jets

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will be raising the UK's sale of Hawk jets to India during his forthcoming visit to the region. [60419]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary had not planned to discuss the possible sale of Hawk jets to India during his visit to the region, and did not himself raise it. The subject was, however, mentioned by the Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes at his meeting with my right hon. Friend, and a brief discussion on the issue followed.

12 Jun 2002 : Column 1273W

Liberia (Arms)

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of Liberia's use of revenue generated by its shipping register to purchase arms in breach of the UN embargo. [60169]

Mr. MacShane [holding answer 10 June 2002]: The report of the UN Expert Panel published in October 2001 found that in 2000 revenue from the Liberian Shipping Registries Incorporated (LISCR) (which manages Liberia's shipping registry on behalf of the Government of Liberia) was diverted to purchase arms in breach of UN sanctions. Since then LISCR has taken action to prevent this reoccurring. LISCR channels shipping registry funds to Liberia's Bureau of Maritime Affairs which the panel described in April 2002 as 'little more than a cash extraction operation and cover from which to fund and organise off-budget expenditures including for sanctions-busting'. The Expert Panel report published in April 2002 expressed continued concern at the use made by the Bureau of Maritime Affairs of Liberia's shipping registry funds.

President Taylor's involvement in weapons trafficking and his support for armed groups continue to threaten regional peace and stability. The UK therefore welcomes the provisions contained in UN Security Council resolution 1408 (2002) that call on Liberia to establish transparent and internationally verifiable audit regimes to ensure that revenue derived from the Liberia shipping registry is used for legitimate social, humanitarian and development purposes, not sanction-busting.

Turkey

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met members of the Turkish Government; what issues were discussed on their progress towards possible membership of the European Union; and if he will make a statement. [60707]

Peter Hain: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State most recently met Foreign Minister Cem on 14 May in Reykjavik, during the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting. They discussed European Defence, the transfer to Turkey of the ISAF lead and Cyprus.

British Citizens (EU Prisons)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens spent more than seven days in prison in each EU country, in each year since 1997; and how many were subsequently acquitted. [60386]

Mr. Bill O'Brien: All British Embassies and High Commissions keep records of those British prisoners who have asked the local authorities to inform the British Mission of their detention. These records show how long a prisoner was detained and whether he/she was later acquitted. However the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not collate statistics in the format requested, and so to provide this information would incur disproportionate costs.

12 Jun 2002 : Column 1274W

The FCO maintains quarterly records of the number of British nationals serving custodial sentences in prisons overseas and I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Tooting on 7 May 2002, Official Report, column 456–458W.

East Timor

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to meet representatives of the Chinese Government; and if he will raise the case of Ngawang Sandrol at that meeting. [59782]

Mr. MacShane [holding answer 10 June 2002]: My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary, hopes to meet Chinese Ministers later in the year. We raise human rights issues, including Tibet, with the Chinese at every suitable occasion and will continue to do so.

Ngawang Sangdrol is one the individual cases that we regularly raise with the Chinese in the context of the biannual UK/China Human Rights Dialogue. We most recently raised her case during the dialogue which took place in Beijing on 15 May. In their response, the Chinese said that her sentence had been reduced by 18 months.

Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the UK's diplomatic staffing will be in East Timor. [60484]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The British Office in East Timor was up-graded to an Embassy at Independence on 20 May 2002. There are two diplomatic staff in Dili.

Middle East

Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what involvement the UK Government will have in the preparations for peace talks in the Middle East. [60481]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and a member of the EU, the UK is actively involved in international efforts to revitalise the Middle East Peace Process in order to achieve a just and lasting peace.

A revitalised peace process must lead to the establishment of two viable, secure, territorially sovereign and democratic states of Israel and Palestine, mutually recognised and committed to peaceful coexistence within agreed borders. It should address key issues, particularly in respect of Jerusalem, settlements and refugees. It should also secure a comprehensive peace that includes full peace treaties between Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Only genuine commitment by the parties to such an agenda can break the current cycle of violence and reprisal.

Achieving these goals will require a continuous process that includes confidence building measures and timelines; ensures parallel movement on the political, security and economic tracks; and is based on UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338 and 1397.

We expect to take this forward at the G8 Foreign Minister's meeting, 12–13 June, and in our consultations with other involved countries in coming weeks.

12 Jun 2002 : Column 1275W

---