Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered at on 7 July 2026.
Jim Shannon
DUP, Strangford
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the security situation for religious leaders and faith-based humanitarian workers in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, following the killing of Fr Youhanna Al-Amin on 19 June 2026; and what steps the UK is taking to support accountability and humanitarian access in that region.
Chris Elmore
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the points made by the Minister for the Middle East on 11 June during the Westminster Hall debate on Freedom of Religion or Belief in Sudan.
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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.
