In his oral statement to the House on 16 July 2007 on measures the Government would impose in response to Russia's failure to answer satisfactorily our request for the extradition Andrey Lugovoy, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary agreed that he would keep Parliament informed of any changes to our visa regime for Russian officials.

One of the measures imposed in July last year was to restrict visas for Russian officials to being single-entry and time-limited. This brought UK practice into line with Russian practice for issuing visas to UK officials. I wish to inform Parliament that, by agreement between the UK and Russia, official couriers will be issued with multiple-entry visas, which accords with recent Russian visa practice towards UK couriers. The change is aimed at maximising the efficiency and efficacy of our network of couriers, and will enable our couriers to support better our diplomatic posts in Russia.

All other visa arrangements remain unchanged.