asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why they continue to recognise certain Governments after they have secured power in a manner deemed not to be free and fair; yet do not recognise certain other elections that were deemed to have been free and fair. [HL4477]

Lord Carrington, then Foreign Secretary, stated in the House of Lords in April 1980 (Official Report, col. 1121 WA),

“we have decided that we shall no longer accord recognition to governments. The Government recognises States in accordance with common international doctrine ... the policy of successive Governments has been that we should make and announce a decision formally ‘recognising’ the new government. This practice has sometimes been misunderstood, and, despite explanations to the contrary, our ‘recognition’ interpreted as implying approval ... we shall continue to decide the nature of our dealings with regimes which come to power unconstitutionally in the light of our assessment of whether they are able of themselves to exercise effective control of the territory of the State concerned, and seem likely to continue to do so”.

Our policy has not changed.