Interpol: Russia

Baroness Doocey Excerpts

Monday 9th November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

Any misuse of Interpol tools, including red notices, is taken seriously by this Government and, I would suggest, by Interpol itself. There are robust safeguards in place: 100% of red notice requests are reviewed before publication by the Interpol Notices and Diffusions Task Force and the UK is an active participant in the governance committee for data processing, which discusses all aspects of Interpol’s constitution. There are sensitive matters for discussion. The noble Lord has made suggestions. Ultimately, it is for Interpol to determine its procedures.

[Baroness Doocey (LD)]

My Lords, earlier this year, the BBC’s extensive investigation revealed that Russia had used Interpol’s messaging system to find the whereabouts of a person, even though Interpol had already turned down a request for a red notice. Are safeguards in place to ensure that UK officials do not pass information through this system? Will those messages be given the same level of scrutiny as red notices?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

There are strict rules by which Interpol deals with these matters. Obviously, we will participate in helping Interpol to scrutinise those rules but, ultimately, it is for Interpol itself to determine how it deals with requests and how they are scrutinised. There is an important mechanism in place. The UK is very keen to ensure that scrutiny takes place, and we have measures whereby all requests are scrutinised and considered. Any abuse of those requests will be considered as very serious action by both Interpol and the UK Government.