Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press release, published on 12 January 2026, entitled UK and Ecuador join forces to tackle cocaine trade at source, what the cost was of providing equipment to Ecuador to assist with preventing the export of drugs since 2020.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Home Office International Operations and UK law enforcement are stationed in Ecuador with officers providing training, equipment and support to enhance the capabilities of Ecuadorian law enforcement – better preventing cocaine from reaching British borders.
Funding for UK law enforcement activity and support in Ecuador is provided via the Integrated Security Fund, Home Office budgetary allocations and law enforcement agency budgets.
The Home Office does not comment on overseas operational deployments for security reasons.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the press release, published on 12 January 2026, entitled UK and Ecuador join forces to tackle cocaine trade at source, what equipment has been provided by the UK to Ecuador to assist with the prevention of drug exports.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Home Office International Operations and UK law enforcement are stationed in Ecuador with officers providing training, equipment and support to enhance the capabilities of Ecuadorian law enforcement – better preventing cocaine from reaching British borders.
Funding for UK law enforcement activity and support in Ecuador is provided via the Integrated Security Fund, Home Office budgetary allocations and law enforcement agency budgets.
The Home Office does not comment on overseas operational deployments for security reasons.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's press release published on 12 January 2026 entitled UK and Ecuador join forces to tackle cocaine trade at source, what recent assessment has she made of the potential impact of bilateral cooperation with Ecuador to reduce the export of drugs to the UK on the level of criminal activity in the UK.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is concerned by the impact that drug trafficking from South America, particularly cocaine trafficking, is having in the UK and its Overseas Territories. Tackling the supply of drugs remains a priority for this Government and will play a critical role in making our streets safer, including delivering our mission to halve knife crime over the next decade.
Ecuador is a key smuggling route for cocaine ending up on UK streets, making joint action essential as part of the UK’s end-to-end approach, including working with law enforcement partners internationally, and at the UK border to tackle the gangs responsible for drug trafficking. Home Office International Operations and UK law enforcement are stationed in Ecuador with officers providing training, equipment and support to enhance the capabilities of Ecuadorian law enforcement – better preventing cocaine from reaching British borders.
In 2024, in Ecuador alone, Home Office International supported the seizure of nearly 95 out of the 300 tonnes seized by police. In May 2025, the UK and Ecuador signed a memorandum of understanding, cementing both countries’ commitment to dismantling and disrupting violent criminal networks, which threaten the safety of communities in Britain and South America alike.
Funding for UK law enforcement activity and support in Ecuador is provided via the Integrated Security Fund, Home Office Drug Strategy funding and law enforcement agency budgets.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press release, published on 12 January 2026, entitled UK and Ecuador join forces to tackle cocaine trade at source, how many UK police officers supported the training of Ecuadorian police in 2025.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Home Office International Operations and UK law enforcement are stationed in Ecuador with officers providing training, equipment and support to enhance the capabilities of Ecuadorian law enforcement – better preventing cocaine from reaching British borders.
Funding for UK law enforcement activity and support in Ecuador is provided via the Integrated Security Fund, Home Office budgetary allocations and law enforcement agency budgets.
The Home Office does not comment on overseas operational deployments for security reasons.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been arrested for being a supporter of (a) the Maniacs Murder Cult and (b) the Russian Imperial Movement in the latest reported quarter, July to September 2025.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Data on arrests, charges and convictions for the proscription offences in sections 11 to 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 can be found in the quarterly Home Office publication ‘Operation of Police Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000’. The most recent publication up to year ending September 2025, was published on 18 December 2025. This can be accessed on GOV.UK in the following link: Operation of police powers under TACT 2000, to September 2025 - GOV.UK
Data is not published on the specific proscribed organisation that the arrest, charge or conviction relates to, with the exception of Palestine Action. Since the proscription of Palestine Action on 5 July 2025, arrests linked to supporting this group have materially altered the volume and demographic makeup of terrorism-related arrests. To preserve the clarity and time-series compatibility, arrests and charges relating to supporting Palestine Action are shown separately, while still being included in the overall total of all arrests in the publication. The separation does not imply that this cohort has been treated differently to other arrests and charges.
The investigation and prosecution of criminal offences, including determining whether an offence has been committed or not, is a matter for the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who are operationally independent.
The Government is absolutely clear that support for proscribed organisations is unacceptable. Anyone expressing support for a proscribed organisation should expect to be investigated by the police.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on what intelligence was shared by West Midlands Police with (a) the UK Football Policing Unit, (b) the National Police Chiefs Council and (c) her Department.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Affairs Select Committee held evidence sessions on 1 December and 6 January to examine West Midlands Police’s intelligence assessments underpinning the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters.
As I committed to the House of Commons, I have provided details of my correspondence with the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police to the Home Affairs Select Committee. Correspondence and evidence submitted to the Committee are routinely published on its official website, ensuring full transparency.
In addition, the Home Office has published HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary’s inspection report, which considers the information and intelligence in respect of the match assessment and categorisation produced by West Midlands Police. The report can be found at the following link: Inspection of police forces’ contributions to safety advisory groups: West Midlands Police - GOV.UK
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to announce the (a) scope and (b) timetable of the forthcoming consultation on proposals to merge shotgun and firearms licensing regimes.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February 2025, included a commitment to having a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns to bring them more into line with the controls on other firearms in the interests of public safety.
We intend to publish this consultation shortly.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's press release published on 12 January 2026 entitled UK and Ecuador join forces to tackle cocaine trade at source, what estimate has she made of the cost to UK police forces and other law enforcement organisations of providing training to Ecuador to prevent the export of drugs.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is concerned by the impact that drug trafficking from South America, particularly cocaine trafficking, is having in the UK and its Overseas Territories. Tackling the supply of drugs remains a priority for this Government and will play a critical role in making our streets safer, including delivering our mission to halve knife crime over the next decade.
Ecuador is a key smuggling route for cocaine ending up on UK streets, making joint action essential as part of the UK’s end-to-end approach, including working with law enforcement partners internationally, and at the UK border to tackle the gangs responsible for drug trafficking. Home Office International Operations and UK law enforcement are stationed in Ecuador with officers providing training, equipment and support to enhance the capabilities of Ecuadorian law enforcement – better preventing cocaine from reaching British borders.
In 2024, in Ecuador alone, Home Office International supported the seizure of nearly 95 out of the 300 tonnes seized by police. In May 2025, the UK and Ecuador signed a memorandum of understanding, cementing both countries’ commitment to dismantling and disrupting violent criminal networks, which threaten the safety of communities in Britain and South America alike.
Funding for UK law enforcement activity and support in Ecuador is provided via the Integrated Security Fund, Home Office Drug Strategy funding and law enforcement agency budgets.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department collects on the religion of migrants, other than through the Census.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UVKI do not request this information as part of the visa application process.
Asylum claimants are asked for information about their religion as part of the asylum screening (registration) process, during the substantive asylum interview and when submitting evidence in support of their claim. This information is recorded on any interview record and within the claimant’s electronic file.
As part of the asylum process, the asylum decision-maker must determine whether the claimant has a characteristic (or be perceived to have a characteristic) which could cause them to fear persecution for a ‘Convention reason’, one of which is ‘religion’. We do not publish the number of asylum claims that were made on the basis of someone’s religion.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 December 2025 to Question 99417 on Undocumented Migrants, what steps she is taking to strengthen (a) statutory and (b) operational powers to (i) relocate and (ii) detain illegal migrants.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
In our Restoring Order and Control statement, we set out a series of measures designed to increase the rate of removal of illegal migrants from the UK, focusing on five areas. First, scaling up removals of those whose claims have failed. Second, imposing sanctions on countries that refuse to take their citizens back. Third, reforming our appeals system. Fourth, pursuing legal reform, both nationally and internationally. Finally, tackling other barriers that are used today to block removals.
Immigration detention plays a key role in maintaining effective immigration controls and securing the UK’s borders. We have made significant reforms to detention over the past few years in line with external reports and recommendations including strengthening our powers to detain individuals who arrive unlawfully through the Border, Security and Asylum Act 2025, enabling detention from the point an individual is notified they are liable for removal. We also expanded the detention estate with the opening of IRC Campsfield in December 2025.