Pervasive persecution of Christians, sometimes amounting to genocide, is ongoing in the Middle East, according to a report commissioned by the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt. ‘The report finds an ‘inconvenient truth’; 80% of persecuted religious believers are Christians. Some of the report’s findings will make difficult reading for Middle East leaders who are accused of tolerating or instigating persecution. The Turkish AK party is highlighted for denigrating Christians. Hunt, an Anglican, has made the issue of Christian persecution one of the major themes of his foreign secretaryship. ‘I think we have shied away from talking about Christian persecution because we are a Christian country and we have a colonial past, so sometimes there’s a nervousness there. But we have to recognise that Christians are the most persecuted religious group.’ The interim report sets out the scale of the persecution. A final report in the summer will state how the Foreign Office can raise awareness of the issue.