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Feroz Abbasi

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will request from the US Administration a statement of the evidence against Mr. Feroz Abbasi. [125496]

Mr. Mullin: It is not our practice to comment on evidence against any individual, which may or may not be used in criminal proceedings (Exemption 4a of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies). Any evidence received would be passed to the prosecuting authorities as appropriate.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government has asked for the extradition of Mr. Feroz Abbasi. [125497]

Mr. Mullin: It is not the practice of the Government to comment on whether an extradition request may be made in any individual case. Exemption 4a of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

Peter Bleach

Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in seeking the release of Mr. Peter Bleach from prison in India; and if he will make a statement. [126233]

Mr. Mullin: The Indian Deputy-Prime Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, visited the UK in June. He called on my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary during his visit. Mr. Bleach's case was raised at both meetings.

Mr. Advani undertook to take a fresh look at Mr. Bleach's case when he returned to India. Our High Commissioner in New Delhi called on the Indian Home Secretary on 4 July 2003. The Indian Home Secretary told the High Commissioner that his Ministry were preparing and submitting papers on Mr. Bleach's case to Deputy-Prime Minister Advani's office. We continue to monitor developments and are in close contact with Mr. Bleach.

Nicaragua

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Nicaragua. [126866]

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Mr. Rammell: Since his election victory in 2001, President Bolanos' administration has been dominated by his attempts to wrest the power to govern from his allegedly corrupt predecessor, Arnoldo Aleman. In December 2002, the National Assembly voted to strip Aleman of his parliamentary immunity; he is currently under house arrest and could now face criminal prosecution. We have assured Nicaragua of our commitment to good governance, transparency, economic reform and exposing corruption and recognise the President's evident equal commitment to these objectives.

North Korea

Mrs. Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further discussion between the UK and other countries regarding the possible interdiction of ships and planes from North Korea is planned to take place in Canberra in July; and what proposals the UK intends to bring to this meeting. [123678]

Mr. Rammell: The discussions, which were held in Brisbane on 9 and 10 July, concentrated on how best to take forward the Proliferation and Security Initiative and, in particular, on defining actions necessary for effective interdiction at sea and the modalities for sharing relevant information. The UK did not table any specific proposals.

A Chairman's Statement was issued following the meeting. This can be found on the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade internet website at www.dfat.gov.au/globalissues.

The group plans to meet again in France at the beginning of September.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received regarding North Korean nuclear weapons programmes; and if he will make a statement on Government policy on nuclear weapons programmes in North Korea. [126579]

Mr. MacShane: We have been in close contact with allies about North Korea's nuclear programme. The UK will continue to work closely with our allies and partners to find a satisfactory solution to this issue.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from the US Administration concerning North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. [126943]

Mr. MacShane: We remain seriously concerned about recent statements and actions by North Korea. We are maintaining close contact with the United States as well as with other allies and partners to work towards a satisfactory resolution of the issue.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received, and what latest assessment he has made of, North Korea's nuclear weapons programme; and if he will make a statement. [126944]

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Mr. MacShane: We are maintaining close contact with allies and partners with a view to finding a satisfactory resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue. We remain seriously concerned about recent statements and actions by the North Korean Government.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received concerning the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods in North Korea. [126945]

Mr. MacShane: We and our allies are seriously concerned about the reports of North Korean reprocessing activities. We are maintaining close contact with our allies and partners to seek a satisfactory resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) China and (b) South Korea concerning nuclear weapons programmes in North Korea. [126946]

Mr. Rammell: We remain in close contact with the governments of China, South Korea and other countries on North Korea's nuclear weapons programmes. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister visited Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing from 18 to 22 July, and held detailed talks on North Korea with his counterparts. North Korea must comply with its international obligations, and dismantle its nuclear weapons programmes in a visible, verifiable and irreversible way.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received on the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons to terrorist organisations from North Korea. [126947]

Mr. MacShane: We and our allies remain seriously concerned about the possible proliferation of nuclear weapons from a number of countries, including North Korea. A new multi-national initiative, the Proliferation and Security Initiative, has recently been launched to look at means by which we can counter this threat.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the North Korean Government concerning nuclear weapons programmes in North Korea. [126948]

Mr. MacShane: The principal recent discussions on this issue have been between North Korea, the United States and China. The UK has not been directly involved in any discussion of the issue in recent months.

Pacific Islands

Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of his Department's Ministers have visited Pacific islands since October 2000; and which islands these were. [R] [126513]

Mr. Rammell: My hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle), the then Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, visited Kiribati in October 2000 for the Pacific Islands Forum. My hon.

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Friend the Member for Hove (Mr. Caplin), the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office Whip attended the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji on behalf of my hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. MacShane) in August 2002. I expect to visit the region for the Pacific Island Forum meeting in Auckland in August. Details of my itinerary will be announced in due course.

Pakistan

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on bilateral relations between the UK and Pakistan. [126172]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: UK-Pakistan relations are warm and close. Our multifaceted relationship is bound together by our historic links and underpinned by the three-quarter of a million British citizens of Pakistani origin. We engage at all levels and President Musharraf's successful official visit to the UK in June 2003 has helped to further strengthen the bilateral relationship.

Saudi Arabia

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens are imprisoned in Saudi Arabia; which individual has been imprisoned the longest; how long he has been in prison; and of what charge he has been convicted. [125415]

Mr. Mullin: Currently there are eight British citizens in prison in Saudi Arabia. Of these, the longest serving is Mohammed Chaudhry, who has been detained since June 1999 on charges of negligence.

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