Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): British Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, responded on Tuesday (November 7, 2017) to Lord Scriven's questions about human rights and government policies towards Bahrain.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Embassy in Bahrain engage with a wide range of non-governmental organisations to discuss the UK's policy towards Bahrain, including the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, in response to Lord Scriven's question asking "whether they intend to meet representatives of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy to discuss human rights issues in Bahrain."

As for whether the Minister of State for the Middle East met, or had contact with, any non-governmental organisations or representatives of the Bahrain opposition during his recent visit to Bahrain, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon stated that "the Minister for the Middle East visited Bahrain on 19 October and co-chaired the Bahrain-UK Joint working group with His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain; where bilateral issues, including human rights, were discussed," adding that he "also had a number of official engagements with Government and non-government interlocutors, including a wide range of young influencers."

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