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British Overseas Territories

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to allow British overseas territories to veto the choice of governor appointed by the UK Government. [55880]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Governor is the official representative of Her Majesty the Queen and therefore it would not be appropriate to give overseas territories the right of veto. Chief Ministers, or their equivalents, are asked for their views on the qualities required of the Governor at an early stage in the appointment process. These are taken into account in the selection and chief Ministers are then notified personally and in confidence of the proposed candidate before the appointment is submitted to Her Majesty the Queen for approval.
 
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British Virgin Islands

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will visit the British Virgin Islands to meet their elected representative. [55937]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: Foreign engagements for my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers are kept under constant review. It is not our practice to announce such visits until they are firm. Because of the unpredictable nature of world events, final decisions on overseas visits are often not possible until very shortly before the day of travel.

Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter sent to him by the hon. Member for Brent, East dated 21 November 2005, regarding Mr. Michael Day. [54695]

Dr. Howells: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 28 February.

Cyprus

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to amend his Department's advice to UK nationals considering purchasing property in Northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [55811]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: We keep all our travel advice under regular review. Our advice for Cyprus was last updated on 30 January. It advises British citizens considering purchasing property in Cyprus to seek independent qualified legal advice and warns of a number of potential practical, financial and legal complications, particularly in buying property in the north. These complications arise principally from the non-recognition of the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", the possibility of a future political settlement in Cyprus, and claims to ownership from people displaced in 1974. Our travel advice also warns of the risk of legal proceedings in the Republic of Cyprus, as well as attempts to enforce judgments from the courts of the Republic of Cyprus elsewhere in the EU, including the UK.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Cyprus about the occupied part of the island; and if he will make a statement. [55813]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary recently visited Cyprus, Turkey and Greece to evaluate the prospects for progress towards a comprehensive settlement and the reunification of the island. In Cyprus, he met Foreign Minister George Iacovou for a full discussion on all aspects of the Cyprus problem. The UK remains firmly committed to supporting efforts to reach a comprehensive solution. To this end, we also remain committed to ending the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community. We were delighted that the EU Council of Ministers agreed to provide €139 million to the Turkish Cypriot community on 27 February. These funds will help
 
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narrow the economic gap between the two communities and bring the Turkish Cypriot community closer to the EU.

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's policy is regarding the deadline of the end of 2006 set by the EU presidency for Turkey to recognise Cyprus. [56066]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: Despite press reports to the contrary over the last week, the EU presidency has not set a deadline for Turkey to recognise the Republic of Cyprus. In 2006, the EU will review Turkey's implementation of the Ankara Agreement Protocol extending the Customs Union to all EU member states, including the Republic of Cyprus. EU leaders, including President Papadopoulos of Cyprus, have said that signing the Ankara Agreement Protocol does not amount to recognition. The EU has, however, made clear that recognition of all member states is a necessary component of the EU accession process.

Diplomatic Passports

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those organisations which are not a state for which the United Kingdom recognises a diplomatic passport. [46862]

Dr. Howells: The UK does not recognise any diplomatic passports issued by organisations which are not a state.

Embassies and Consulates

Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether an agreement is in place with other EU member states to provide consular assistance to EU nationals. [41423]

Dr. Howells: EU member states consular staff in countries outside the EU provide consular assistance to EU nationals whose own country is not represented, in conformity with article 20 of the Treaty establishing the European Community and the European Council decision of 19 December 1995 regarding protection for citizens of the European Union by diplomatic and consular missions (Decision 95/553/EC, Official Journal L 314, 28/12/1995). The full text is available at: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do? uri=CELEX:41995D0553:EM:HTML

Gibraltar

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in the Royal Gibraltar police's investigation into the complaint that officers of the Gibraltar Services police unlawfully removed papers from the premises of the Transport and General Workers Union in Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement. [56159]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Royal Gibraltar police's investigation into this matter, which was conducted lawfully under a waiver issued by the Governor, has been completed and no further action will be taken.
 
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Guantanamo Bay

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many letters his Department has received about Guantanamo Bay. [55042]

Dr. Howells: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers have replied to 259 letters from Members of Parliament, and FCO departments have replied to 1,140 letters from members of the public, about Guantanamo Bay since 1 October 2004. To collate the statistics before that date would involve disproportionate cost.

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recommendations in the UN Human Rights Commission report on the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay; and what discussions he has had with the US Administration on the recommendations in the report. [55437]

Dr. Howells: We have made it clear that we regard the circumstances under which detainees continue to be held in Guantanamo Bay as unacceptable. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said that Guantanamo Bay is an anomaly that should come to an end sooner rather than later. The US Government is fully aware of our views.

However, it is important to remember the circumstances which led to Guantanamo Bay. Nearly 3,000 people were killed during the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. We remain determined to work with our allies to defeat the scourge of international terrorism.

Haiti

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the prospect of free and fair elections in Haiti. [52201]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The first round of presidential and parliamentary elections took place in Haiti on 7 February. On 16 February, Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) declared Rene Preval the winner of the presidential elections with 51.15 per cent. of the vote. The European Union sent an observer mission to monitor the elections. The mission's preliminary declaration reports that polling took place in a calm environment with high voter turnout and that the elections mark a major step forward for Haiti's democratic process. The mission will produce a full report on the election process once the second round of parliamentary elections has taken place on 19 March.

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