Press Officers (Hansard, 5 June 2000)

HC Deb 05 June 2000 vol 351 c42W 42W

§ Mr. Spring
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many press officers were employed by his Department in(a) May 1997 and (b) May 2000. [124063]

§ Mr. Hain
In May 1997 there were nine press officers in the FCO. In May of this year the number was 13. This represents an increase from 0.07 per cent. of the total FCO staff to 0.09 per cent. over the period. Due to the increasing media interest in world events they are constantly busy.