MPs to compel Mark Zuckerberg give evidence to Parliamentary committee investigating 'fake news'

Threat of summons intended to force Zuckerberg to appear in front of MPs before the end of May

MPs are threatening Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg with a formal summons in a bid to compel him to appear before the Parliamentary Culture, Digital, Media and Sport Select Committee and to give evidence in its investigation into 'fake news'.

The threat has been made in a letter to Zuckerberg that, while unenforcable outside the UK, would result in his arrest should he travel via London Heathrow or any UK territory.

"While Mr Zuckerberg does not normally come under the jurisdiction of the UK Parliament, he will do so the next time he enters the country. We hope that he will respond positively to our request, but if not the Committee will resolve to issue a formal summons for him to appear hen he is next in the UK," the letter warns, adding that the Committee expects the grilling to take place before 24 May.

The letter is addressed to Rebecca Stimson, head of public policy at Facebook UK, and signed by Damian Collins MP, Chairman of the Committee.

Collins added that he was unsatisfied by the responses provided by its chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer, who represented the social media company in parliament on Monday, and provided the 39 questions that the Committee would like Zuckerberg to answer.

This included questions about political advertising, third-party app developers, alleged foreign interference, foreign advertising spend in elections, and the storage and privacy of user data.

The committee expects those questions to be answered by 11 May, Collins wrote, adding: "We would like confirmation of Mr Zuckerberg's attendance by the same date."

The Select Committee's letter was published on the same day as that Facebook's F8 developer conference kicks off, with Mark Zuckerberg widely-expected to address the ongoing privacy concerns surrounding the company.

It will be Zuckerberg's first public appearance since he appeared before US Congress early last month.