Asylum Seekers: Accommodation

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate

Thursday 16th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

The Government have an immigration White Paper due to be published shortly and I hope that all parties and Members can contribute to the discussion around that.

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

My Lords, is it not correct that the people of this country are concerned ultimately with having people removed who are shown to be illegally here? In answer to the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, when I was the Minister and the Conservative Party was in Government, we concentrated considerable resources on doing just that. I think the people of this country were very happy with that approach.

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am pleased to inform the noble Lord that the current Government have removed in excess of 16,000 people who have no right to live in this country since we came to office in July last year, and we will continue to do that, but the key to removing people is the speed of assessment, which, to go back to the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Davies, requires individuals employed to assess, test and determine. That is what this Government are focusing on: removals, speeding up assessment, and in the meantime, to go back to the original Question of the noble Lord, Lord Young, trying to find a way to save the taxpayer money on the costs associated with that temporary period when no determination has been made.

Defending Democracy Taskforce

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate

Monday 6th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I hope I can help my noble friend by saying that there is a dual approach to this. Safeguarding is obviously important. There are many young people who can be drawn into potential terrorist activity at a very early age, and it is important that we treat those people as young people but also recognise the influences given to them. The Government’s Prevent strategy is also about making sure that we identify where serious intervention is needed to prevent potential radicalisation. We keep all those options open. That is important because we do not want to create a cadre of future terrorists, be they from whatever wing of terrorism activity. I have seen and witnessed young people who have had extreme right-wing, Islamist and other forms of radicalisation against gay and homosexual individuals. None of that is acceptable, and we need to identify how we best intervene to prevent that activity occurring.

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

My Lords, with the development of AI and social media, is the Minister satisfied that the present defamation laws in this country are adequate to deal with those threats?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

If the noble Lord will allow me, I cannot confess at this Dispatch Box to be an expert on current defamation laws, but I understand, potentially, where he is coming from on this issue. Let me just say that everybody is entitled to freedom of speech and to their view, but when lies and mistruths are portrayed by individuals, it is right and proper that individuals respond in a robust and effective fashion. That is what this Government intend to do in relation to any lies portrayed against individuals or members of the United Kingdom as a whole.

International Law Enforcement Alerts Platform

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate

Monday 2nd September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implementation of phase 2 of the International Law Enforcement Alerts Platform (ILEAP) and the progress towards reaching a data sharing agreement with the European Union.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Hanson of Flint) (Lab)]

The Government are committed to resetting the UK’s relationship with the EU, as set out in the Government’s manifesto. This includes seeking a new security agreement with the EU to ensure access to real-time intelligence. This could be an opportunity to expand the existing I-LEAP service to enhance mutual capabilities for alert exchange with trusted international partners, as was envisaged in phase 2 of the I-LEAP programme in the first place.

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

One of the problems and one of the results of our leaving the European Union was, of course, the complete removal of the automatic exchange of data between our criminal enforcement authorities. This put our country’s security in great danger. The previous Government’s initiative with I-LEAP has got off the ground, but it is not a proper replacement for SIS II, which was the way in which we conveyed such information previously. I therefore ask the Minister to put a lot of emphasis and priority on restoring the position of this country and its relationship with those with whom we need to share data to deal with criminality and terrorism.

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right that the loss of SIS II was very disconcerting, both for our European partners and for us. Many of us, including me, warned about that aspect before we left the European Union in 2019-20. The noble Lord makes the very important point that the current I-LEAP programme is about making sure that we now have 46 police forces involved in real-time data exchange. We will look at how we can expand that to the mutual exchange of data in the long term. My right honourable friends the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have been very clear that we need to secure a new security agreement with the EU, as is committed to in the manifesto. That means looking at the whole range of issues, including how we can protect our own citizens and European citizens in the most effective way.