The UK government has asked over 70 countries worldwide to clarify the rights that gay British married people have in their countries.

Equalities Minister Jo Swinson has requested that countries including the US, South Africa, New Zealand and Denmark to inform the UK government how safe it is for British gay married couples working in, or travelling to, their countries.

“One of the things we committed to do in the coalition agreement is recognising that for gay people who are in a civil partnership or now have got married, and who are travelling, working or studying abroad, for them to know what their rights are in that country and ideally to have their partnership or marriage recognised would make a big difference,” Swinson told The Guardian.

“Sad to say, there are plenty of countries where LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] rights are in a dreadful state and the people in those countries themselves suffer greatly, and I’m not going to have rose-tinted specs to think that those countries are going to rush to recognise our same-sex marriages.”

“But there are plenty of countries that do have a much more positive approach, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t recognise our partnerships,” she added.