Written question asked by Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 5 December 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 10 December 2007. It was answered by Meg Munn (Labour) on Monday, 10 December 2007 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Timor-Leste: Human Rights

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) correspondence and (b) discussions he has had in response to the finding in November of the Coroner of New South Wales that British citizens Brian Peters, Malcolm Rennie and other newsmen were killed deliberately in Timor-Leste in 1975; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Neither my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary nor I have had any discussions nor received any correspondence on the recent verdict of the New South Wales Coroner's Court inquest into the death of Brian Peters. Nor have we had any discussions or received any correspondence regarding Malcolm Rennie or the other journalists killed in 1975.We have noted the verdict of the inquest which is the outcome of a judicial process run by the New South Wales Coroner's Court. The New South Wales Deputy Coroner has said that she will now refer the matter to the Australian Attorney-General. It will be for the Australian Attorney-General to decide how to take this forward. We will continue to follow this case closely.

Secondary information