Written question asked by Lord Dykes (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Malloch-Brown (Labour) on Wednesday, 23 April 2008.

Zimbabwe

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have taken emergency measures to protect British passport holders in Zimbabwe in the event of civil disorder in that country.

Answer: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) takes its role of providing consular support to British nationals overseas seriously and their safety is our top priority. As with many other British diplomatic missions across the world, our embassy in Harare holds a civil contingency plan. The Zimbabwe contingency plan focuses on assisting the departure of British nationals from Zimbabwe by non-military means and is reviewed and updated on a regular basis. At present, we do not anticipate an assisted departure or evacuation, but we will continue to monitor the situation and adjust our plans accordingly. The FCO travel advice for Zimbabwe is under constant review. We are currently advising against all but essential travel to the whole country. We are also advising British nationals in Zimbabwe to avoid specific areas and to have their own contingency plan for how they would leave at short notice. A full copy of the travel advice can be found at www.fco.gov.uk/travel/zimbabwe. If the situation in Zimbabwe deteriorates further, we will reflect this in our travel advice and provide appropriate guidance. To ensure that we can effectively communicate this information, British nationals in Zimbabwe are urged to register with our embassy in Harare.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 700 c308-10WA; 3051
Session: 2007-08
Subjects: British nationality Protection Overseas residence Zimbabwe Civil disorder
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk