Foreign and Commonwealth Office written question – answered at on 17 December 2014.
Ian Austin
Labour, Dudley North
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Bahrain on the release of Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace.
Tobias Ellwood
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Our Embassy in Bahrain raised the case of Dr Abduljalil Al Singace, along with a number of other cases, with the Ombudsman for the Ministry of Interior in May. Our Ambassador to Bahrain has also raised our broader concerns around detainee rights and prison conditions with HM the King, HRH the Crown Prince and the Minister of Interior.
Yes5 people think so
No4 people think not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
