§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations between Britain and Yemen. [79072]
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§ Mr. FatchettOur long-standing relations with Yemen have been strained by recent incidents of kidnap involving British tourists, one of which resulted in the death of three British nationals, and by the arrest in Yemen of eight British nationals on terrorist-related charges. We are determined not to allow these set backs to cloud otherwise friendly relations. The Prime Minister wrote to Prime Minister Iriyani again on 24 March to help maintain dialogue at the most senior level, and to press our concerns about serious shortcomings in the legal process in the trial of the British nationals in Aden.