Written Statements

Wednesday 24th May 2023 Written Statements

Wednesday 24 May 2023

Serious Fraud Office Handling of the Unaoil Case: Independent Review

Wednesday 24th May 2023 Written Statements

[The Attorney General (Victoria Prentis)]

Following the Court of Appeal’s judgment in the Unaoil case (R v. Akle and Anoi) in December 2021, the then Attorney General commissioned Sir David Calvert-Smith to conduct an independent review into the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) handling of the case.

Sir David’s full report was published on 21 July 2022, alongside a response to his recommendations. Sir David made 11 recommendations, which were accepted. These covered a range of matters, including record keeping and case assurance, compliance with policies, and resourcing.

At the same time, the then Attorney General laid a written ministerial statement (WMS) providing Parliament with the findings of Sir David’s review and a response to his recommendations. This statement included a commitment to update Parliament on progress in delivering these recommendations in November 2022 and February 2023.

On 29 November 2022, I laid a WMS providing the first of these updates and a detailed progress update was also published on www.gov.uk'>www.gov.uk. This update showed substantial progress in delivering Sir David’s recommendations, with the SFO having already taken significant action to implement nine of his 11 recommendations. For the two remaining recommendations, work had commenced to address Sir David’s proposals.

At the same time, this update highlighted that while many of the changes recommended by Sir David could—and have been—made quickly, it would take time to embed these changes and assess their effectiveness.

I also informed Parliament that the second progress update would be provided in May 2023 to allow the findings of an upcoming inspection of the SFO by His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) to be considered as part of the update.

Today, I am providing the second update on progress against Sir David’s recommendations. As of May 2023, there continues to be good progress. Significant action has now been taken to deliver all 11 of Sir David’s recommendations, with further activity planned in some instances. In addition, action to embed the changes that have been made and monitor their effectiveness is ongoing.

There is also independent evidence that the actions taken so far are proving to be effective. On 4 May 2023, HMCPSI published its follow-up inspection of case progression in the SFO. As part of the inspection, where issues raised in Sir David’s review were within scope, HMCPSI used the evidence gathered to assess the progress made to address his recommendations. While highlighting some areas for further work, this assessment indicated positive progress on many of his recommendations.

It nonetheless remains the case that it will take time to fully embed Sir David’s recommendations and assess whether the actions taken have been effective. To support this longer-term assessment, the Law Officers have asked the Chief Inspector of HMCPSI to consider an inspection of the recommendations’ implementation as part the HMCPSI’s inspection programme in 2024-25.

A detailed update on progress will be published on www.gov.uk today and copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

[HCWS804]

The British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill

Wednesday 24th May 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Immigration (Robert Jenrick)]

The British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill, introduced today, will confirm in statute a long-standing historical policy under which EU, EEA and Swiss nationals living in the UK in the relevant period and exercising free movement rights here were considered to be settled.

This will protect the nationality rights of people born in the UK to parents who were considered settled on the basis of that policy, and who were treated as British automatically, and those who registered or naturalised as British citizens on that basis.

The Bill also clarifies when EU, EEA and Swiss nationals could be considered settled on the basis of exercising an equivalent right in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, which are considered part of the UK for nationality purposes.

We want to be clear that we are not creating “new” British citizens, but rather confirming the citizenship of individuals we have long considered, and treated as, British already under established Home Office policy.

The introduction of the Bill was preceded by consultation with the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with relevant officials in these locations having confirmed their support for the measures that the UK Government are looking to introduce.

To support scrutiny of the Bill by both Houses, we are publishing on gov.uk and parliament.uk the following documents:

Explanatory Notes

Equality Impact Assessment

ECHR Memorandum

Factsheet

[HCWS805]