Convention on Torture (Periodic Report)
Lord Clarke of Nottingham Excerpts(12 years, 10 months ago)
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The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)
I have today placed in the Libraries of both Houses copies of the UK’s fifth periodic report under the convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. I intend to send the report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture immediately, with a request that the committee post the report on its website.
The report sets out how the UK is fulfilling its undertakings under the convention, and updates the UN on developments since the examination of the UK’s fourth report in November 2004. It draws attention to recent initiatives with regard to the treatment of people in detention: publication of guidance on the treatment of detainees, and establishment of the detainee inquiry. Non-governmental organisations and members of civil society in the UK have had the opportunity to comment on the report in draft, and the Government have taken into account many of their comments and suggestions.
Transparency in the Justice System
Lord Clarke of Nottingham Excerpts(12 years, 10 months ago)
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The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)
Open justice is a long-standing and fundamental principle of our legal system. Justice must be done and must be seen to be done if it is to command public confidence.
This Government are determined to open up the justice system and have ambitious plans to increase transparency at every stage to allow everyone to see what is happening and how the system works.
Central to achieving this objective is a plan to publish far more and better data on justice:
On 29 September 2011, my Department will publish statistics by region which show the efficiency of the courts and tribunals in progressing cases. This will include brand new statistics on the time from the date an offence is committed to the date the case is finally dealt with by the criminal courts, whether at a magistrates court or the Crown Court.
On 12 January 2012, this will be extended down to court level. These data will include the number and type of cases dealt with at each court or local justice area, how long cases take to complete, as well as how many criminal trials could not commence on the scheduled date and how many had to be abandoned. The data will also allow the public to see the number of civil hearings and trials dealt with at courts in their area, how long it takes these cases to progress, and in family courts how long it takes for care proceedings cases to complete.
On 27 October 2011 we will publish reoffending rates for every probation trust and prison in England and Wales, along with anonymised datasets showing whether individual proven offenders go on to reoffend for each local area.
On 24 November 2011, we will publish, alongside our regular quarterly criminal justice system statistics, anonymised datasets on each case sentenced. This will include the sentence given, the court, the age group, gender and ethnicity of those sentenced, and the time from when the offence was committed to when the case was complete.
From May 2012 onwards, the national crime mapping website, police.uk, will provide the public with information on what happens next for crimes committed in their streets, so they can see what action the police took and the outcome of any subsequent court case.
In addition to providing more data, I am determined to reform fundamentally the way the justice system operates so it is more open. The names of offenders who are unlawfully at large can be—and often are—published by police forces to help bring these people back to custody—where they should be. We are committed to removing all unnecessary barriers to the naming of these offenders and to promoting best practice and consistency across all police forces.
Today, I can also announce my intention to legislate, as soon as parliamentary time allows, to remove the ban on cameras in courts.
As a starting point, judgments in the Court of Appeal will be broadcast for the first time. I want to see this expanded to the Crown Court, but I will work closely with the Lord Chief Justice and Judiciary on how this could be achieved.
I will consult further on the detailed approach, but I am clear that this must not give offenders opportunities for theatrical public display. We will work to ensure this does not hinder the administration of justice and that it protects victims, witnesses, offenders and jurors.
Collectively, these plans will open the justice system in an unprecedented manner, allowing the public to judge for themselves how we are performing and to hold us to account.
Victims of Crime Directive
Lord Clarke of Nottingham Excerpts(12 years, 10 months ago)
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The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)
The Government have decided to opt in to the directive on establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime. The directive meets the criteria set out in the coalition agreement with regard to EU Justice and Home Affairs measures.
In accordance with the coalition agreement, the Government have stated that they will approach forthcoming legislation in the area of criminal justice on a case-by-case basis, with a view to maximising our country’s security, protecting Britain’s civil liberties and preserving the integrity of our criminal justice systems. By opting in to this directive we will have the opportunity to strongly influence the text and ensure that the minimum standards victims can expect throughout the EU are clear, appropriate and affordable.
We welcome the proposed directive, which will benefit UK citizens who are victims in other EU member states. They will be afforded minimum rights, support and protection to a level similar to that they would receive as a victim of crime in the UK. The directive will allow UK citizens to move throughout the EU with confidence that should they fall victim to crime in any member state, their rights will be respected when participating in criminal proceedings and they will be able to access a minimum level of support across the EU.
Office for Judicial Complaints
Lord Clarke of Nottingham Excerpts(12 years, 11 months ago)
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The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)
With the agreement of the Lord Chief Justice, I will today publish the annual report of the Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC). The OJC provides support to the Lord Chief Justice and myself in our joint responsibility for the system of judicial complaints and discipline.
This report is the fifth published by the OJC, and marks the end of a year which has seen the OJC transition from an arm’s-length body, sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, to become a part of the Judicial Office, which supports the Lord Chief Justice and senior judiciary in discharging their responsibilities.
While now a part of the Judicial Office, the OJC retains both its operational and decision-making independence and continues to report to both myself and the Lord Chief Justice on matters relating to judicial conduct and discipline. I am confident that this arrangement will realise significant administrative and organisational savings while protecting the independence of the investigatory and disciplinary process.
I am pleased to note that the OJC continues to deliver an effective complaint-handling service to all of its customers, which is both transparent and efficient; processing over 1,600 complaints and 800 inquiries in the last year. None the less, it is always possible to seek further efficiencies and improvements and to that end the Lord Chief Justice and I have agreed that the OJC should conduct a thorough review of the Judicial Discipline (Prescribed Procedures) Regulations to identify any areas where the disciplinary process may be improved or streamlined. That review is ongoing and the OJC will be consulting key stakeholders and inviting submissions from interested parties before providing both the Lord Chief Justice and myself with recommendations in 2012.
Copies of the report are available in the Libraries of both Houses, the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office. Copies of the report are also available on the internet at http://www.judicialcomplaints.gov.uk/publications/publications.htm.
Justice's of the Peace Act 1949 (Compensation) Regulations
Lord Clarke of Nottingham Excerpts(12 years, 11 months ago)
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The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)
I am announcing today that I have approved a recommendation by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service that the Justice of the Peace Act 1949 (Compensation) Regulations as amended (known as “Crombie” regulations) are to be revoked by a statutory instrument that will be laid before Parliament on the 14 July 2011.
Under arrangements dating back to 1949 justices’ clerks and their assistants are currently entitled to receive higher compensation than other civil servants—in certain circumstances—for loss of office, resettlement and retirement. We have a duty to ensure that we get value for taxpayers’ money and following consultation the Ministry of Justice has decided to revoke this entitlement.
All civil servants, including justices’ clerks and their assistants will continue to benefit from the protection of the civil service compensation scheme.
Copies of the response to consultation on the proposal to revoke the “Crombie” regulations have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Prison and Probation Services (England and Wales)
Lord Clarke of Nottingham Excerpts(12 years, 11 months ago)
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The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)
In the response to the Green Paper, “Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders”, I set out a vision for a transformed justice system that will focus on public protection and cutting crime. An important part of delivering the changes I am committed to is ensuring that the services we provide are focused on delivering the best possible outcomes and the greatest value for money.
Competition between providers of our services can help us to meet these challenges as the previous Government recognised when they made contestability a feature of offender services when setting up the National Offender Management Service in 2004. The “Competition Strategy for Offender Services”, which I have published today, sets out how we will change the way we use competition to meet these aims. My approach is based on ensuring an effective balance between making services more efficient while reforming them so that they provide better outcomes for the public. In doing so, we will draw on a wide range of expertise from the private and voluntary sector, which will work in partnership with a strong public sector.
For offender services, I intend to employ the principle that competition will apply at some stage to all those services not currently bound to public sector delivery by statute. This will mean the benefits of competition can be felt much more widely, contrasting with the previous approach of only using competition when procuring new services or as a way of managing poor performance.
Underpinning this approach will be our commitment to apply more widely the principles of payment by results to services which reduce reoffending. By paying some or all of a contract value on the basis of the reduced reoffending levels achieved, we can focus service providers’ efforts on what works. This will ensure that money spent on rehabilitation is spent effectively. We intend to run a number of pilot exercises and competition will be a key mechanism in deciding which models we adopt.
In practice, this will mean taking a different approach for both custodial and non-custodial services. The use of competition in custodial services is now well established, as most recently demonstrated by the successful outcome of the competition for four prisons which I announced in March this year.
To ensure that we build on this strong record I am announcing today my intention to launch competitions for the management of a further nine prisons in the autumn. These are Lindholme, Moorland, Hatfield and The Wolds in Yorkshire, Acklington and Castington in Northumberland, Durham, Onley in Northamptonshire and Coldingley in Surrey. The Wolds is a prison run by G4S that has come to the end of its current contract; the other eight prisons are public sector establishments being competed for the first time. The public sector will have the opportunity to compete in all of these prison competitions.
These prisons have been selected by the National Offender Management Service to balance our need to increase efficiency and to make real the policy intent of the Green Paper.
Looking to the future, there is a need to consider the future shape of probation services in England and Wales to improve justice outcomes and to make the justice system more efficient and effective. I have asked my officials to explore the possible options for service improvements and different models of delivering offender services within the community. I will set out my preferred approach in the autumn. Alongside this, and supporting it, I will set out in detail my competition strategy for non-custodial services, which will also encompass the recently launched competition for community payback services, the competition for electronic monitoring contracts I am announcing today, and payment-by-results pilots in the community.
A further important element of our drive for greater efficiency is to ensure we have a modern, fit-for-purpose prison estate which can deliver high-quality, cost-effective and secure regimes. With the prison population not growing at the rate predicted by the last Government, we have an opportunity to close some of our more inefficient places.
I am therefore announcing the closure of HMPs Latchmere House and Brockhill. This will see a reduction of 377 prison spaces. This is part of an overall programme which includes a further 2,500 new prison places becoming available over the next 12 months. This will ensure that our operational capacity continues to handle the projected prison population in a way which meets the need both for greater efficiency and ability to support a strengthened focus on protection of the public and rehabilitation.
The closure of these places will provide estimated cost savings of £4.9 million this year and an on-going annual saving of £11.4 million. We also anticipate capital receipts from sale of the land at Latchmere House, which is in a prime location. We will transfer resettlement provision from that establishment to HMP Brixton to maintain our focus on reducing reoffending. We expect to be able to absorb staff displaced by this process elsewhere in the system and to avoid the use of compulsory redundancies.
The public have a right to expect continuing improvement in the quality and efficiency of public services, without compromising public safety. The competition strategy and adjustments to the prison estate I have outlined today will help ensure that this is the case.
Copies of the “Offender Services Competition Strategy” have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The document is also available online, at www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/moj/oscs.htm.
Public Bodies Reform
Lord Clarke of Nottingham Excerpts(12 years, 12 months ago)
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The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)
Today I have laid before Parliament a public consultation document; “Consultation on reforms proposed in the Public Bodies Bill—Reforming the public bodies of the Ministry of Justice”.
The consultation details our reform proposals in relation to those Ministry of Justice bodies included in the Public Bodies Bill, which is currently before this House. While clause 10 of the Bill requires consultation of certain specified groups, I have decided that this should be a public consultation to ensure details of my Department’s proposals are available to as many interested parties as possible.
Reducing the number and costs of public bodies is a key Government commitment and the proposals in this consultation build on previous announcements relating to public bodies reform. All Ministry of Justice public bodies have been reviewed over the last year. We have considered whether particular bodies and their associated functions are still needed and assessed our public bodies against agreed criteria for reform. These criteria were intended to increase Government accountability; eliminate duplication of activity and discontinue activities that no longer need to take place.
I am confident that the proposed reforms set out in the consultation document will address these aims and enable the Ministry of Justice to make a significant contribution to the Government’s reform of public bodies.
I will carefully consider the consultation responses before bringing forward any order in relation to any of the Ministry of Justice bodies in the Bill.
Rights and Protection of Victims
Lord Clarke of Nottingham Excerpts(12 years, 12 months ago)
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The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)
I beg to move,
That this House takes note of European Union Documents No. 10610/11 and Addenda 1 and 2 relating to the Draft Directive establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, No. 10613/11 and Addenda 1 and 2 relating to the Draft Regulation on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters, No. 10612/11 and Addenda 1 and 2 relating to a Commission Communication–strengthening victims’ rights in the EU and the unnumbered Explanatory Memorandum dated 16 May 2011 relating to a Council Resolution on a Roadmap for strengthening the rights and protection of victims, in particular in criminal proceedings; and welcomes the opportunity to consider views on whether the UK should opt in to the draft Directive establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims and the Draft Regulation on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters.
I thank the European Scrutiny Committee for calling the debate. The Government are currently actively considering in detail the European Commission’s proposals on victims, and in particular whether the United Kingdom should opt into the proposed directive on victims and regulation on protection orders. There has already been some scrutiny of the protection order regulation, but it is useful to have this opportunity to hear Members’ views on the proposals on the Floor of the House, to inform our decisions.
The Government are obviously committed to supporting the victims of crime. One of the main objects of the criminal justice system, as well as punishing those guilty of serious criminal offences, is offering protection and support to the victims of crime. We welcome the priority that the European Commission is giving the matter and the further impetus provided by the Hungarian Government, who will hold the presidency of the European Union for the second half of this year. There was a Budapest declaration setting out their intention, supported by the Council of the European Union, to deal with various matters concerning the victims of crime in the course of their presidency.
I am glad to say that this country is seen by the Commission as an example of best practice on supporting victims. The Government hope to strengthen what we do, but there is no doubt that we are well ahead of the vast majority of members of the European Union in what we do now.
The thing that the House should particularly have regard to is that our own citizens are increasingly travelling and working across the EU. If a British citizen is unfortunate enough to fall victim to crime in another member state, I do not think that they always get the level of support that they would expect in similar circumstances in the United Kingdom. The Government see one of the main attractions of this package of work as, among other things, helping our citizens to get the full support that they ought to have in a modern and civilised state when they are victims of crime. We want to ensure that British citizens are provided with the information, support and protection that they rightly expect to receive when they fall victim to crime in any EU member state.
My officials have been working with the Commission to share our experiences of supporting victims, and to consider how the existing EU framework agreement on the subject might be improved. The Commission, I am glad to say, has taken on board many of our suggestions in its recent proposals. I am especially pleased that the proposed directive takes into account the particular role of victims in our common law system. We encounter drafting problems at least in quite a lot of proposals in this field, because, like the Irish, Cypriots and Maltese, we tend to have a common law system, whereas the rest of Europe does not. It is necessary to ensure that the procedural differences and the practices of different countries are respected in such proposals.
The Government are committed to targeting resources towards those victims who need them the most. We continue to develop our own proposals on victims—we hope to come forward with some in the autumn—but meanwhile, we will continue to work with our European partners to ensure that any EU action on victims supports our approach. We are particularly trying to ensure that any requirements imposed upon or accepted by member states are proportionate to the needs of victims and properly targeted on those with the most important needs.
I wait to hear whether there are any objections in principle to the objectives being pursued by the Commission and the Hungarian presidency, and the vast majority of the member states on the European Council—as far as I am aware, that means all member states on the Council—but I think they are unlikely. It is plainly desirable that we consider spreading best practice across the Union when it comes to protecting victims of any nationality who have the misfortune to fall prey to crime in any of our countries. However, I look forward to hearing the views of right hon. and hon. Members on any particular aspects of the package of proposals before us to which they want to draw the House’s and the Government’s attention.
Mike Weatherley
I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention, but I am afraid that he is sadly mistaken, for various reasons that I shall come to. I agree that the EU quite often meddles unnecessarily, but occasionally some standardisation across Europe is welcome, and this is one of those situations.
I mentioned that our system of victim support is better than those of other countries around Europe, but this position is by no means assured. After all, it has been eroded in several key areas. One is the example of funding for Victim Support—a charity that provides an invaluable service to victims of crime. Its funding has been cut, which is a great shame. Also, over a number of years, we have seen certain crimes such as shoplifting downgraded. Indeed, the Sentencing Commission does not formally recognise the vulnerability of shop workers as particular victims of crime, despite last year being a record period for crimes committed in shops, ranging from shoplifting to murders in the process of robbery. The Government could also do more to support the private sector in schemes such as Facewatch, piloted in London by the Metropolitan police and now spreading across the UK.
Victims of crime currently have the right to receive a basic level of service for each criminal justice agency under the code of practice for victims of crime. Everything that victims are entitled to under the code is pretty basic and the sort of thing that one would assume victims would receive automatically. The Government, however, have already removed the duty on local criminal justice boards to report their compliance with the victims code, which means no one is monitoring compliance with the code or holding agencies to account when they fail to comply with it. There is a danger that the Government will seek to downgrade the code or abolish it altogether. That would mean that a victim of crime would have no statutory right to a decent level of service from the criminal justice system. Abolishing or downgrading the code would be a serious retrograde step that would turn the clock back on victims’ rights.
Mr Kenneth Clarke
I would like to give my hon. Friend an assurance on that in case I forget to reply to his point later. We realise that the code needs modernising, but we do not have the faintest intention of repealing or abolishing it. I can give my hon. Friend that assurance straight away—before some rumour is accidentally set flying.
Mr Kenneth Clarke
It is a long time since I have taken part in a debate on the Floor of the House on any European subject that was completely free of any controversy. [Interruption.] Certain Members were not here. We all congratulate the Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee, the hon. Member for Stafford, on selecting the measure for debate, because we all agree on the great importance of giving better protection to victims of crime, not only in this country but across the European Union.
Mr Clarke
I will not weigh up the issue of whether Stafford has lost or gained, or whether Stone has benefited or been deprived, but I enjoyed the debates on the Maastricht treaty. We were not quite as close on that occasion as we are on the directive.
This is an extremely important subject, and there is general agreement that the framework agreement of 2001 is not adequate and should be improved, which is the objective of the Commission’s documents. The proposals have received extremely widespread support, and were movingly supported by Members whose constituents had been adversely affected. The hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Stephen Twigg) cited the case of Mr and Mrs Dunne, and a constituent of my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Ben Gummer) was murdered in Spain. The hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) discussed difficulties that he had encountered. As I said at the beginning of our debate, we are trying to raise European standards on the issue because many British citizens go abroad and their families would benefit if minimum standards—and we hope very adequate standards—were in place throughout all member countries.
It was claimed that that could be achieved by bilateral agreements with other member states. With respect, I do not think that that is practicable. The notion that bilateral agreements have to be negotiated with 26 EU member states, where the tradition of supporting victims is variable and in some cases far below that in the UK, is not the best way to proceed. I was urged by other speakers to support the Commission and the Hungarian presidency’s Budapest declaration to see what we can do to strengthen support for everyone.
Reference was made to the work of Louise Casey, the victims commissioner, who shares the views of my hon. Friends and of the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby about the importance of considering the problems experienced by bereaved families. Victim Support, the biggest organisation in the field of victim support, supports the proposed directive, and it has urged the Government to take a constructive approach to it. It was said that its funding had been cut, but we have responded to the opinions expressed by the victims commissioner. We need to make sure that specialist, targeted support is available for vulnerable victims. Many hon. Members have been victims of crime—probably, almost everyone—but people do not always need counselling and support afterwards. Bereaved families, however, are a particular concern of Louise Casey, who has produced a report on the subject. We have given extra support to specialist services for bereaved families and victims of rape and sexual assault. More targeted support is required. We have a code of practice in this country that also needs to be revised and improved in the light of experience, and everybody is pressing in the same direction on that.
The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello) was pretty supportive of the proposals before us. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Mr Cash), he talked particularly about protection orders. The idea of mutual recognition of protection orders throughout the European Union is very valuable. These orders are usually given when someone is being harassed, often by a husband, partner or spouse with a history of domestic violence. If we do not have mutual recognition of the orders, the consequence is that every time anybody travels in Europe, they are obliged to try to get a fresh court order in the area where they are then living and give evidence again about the same experiences. Where possible, we should support this move. We have already opted into the criminal law directive on the subject, and we will do so on the civil order once we have scrutinised it to make sure that the two will work together and that particular burdens are not put on us.
My hon. Friend the Member for Stone talked about the possible resource and administrative implications for this country. I do not see any insuperable problems in the proposals, but we will obviously have to scrutinise them in detail because we cannot accept unnecessary extra resources or administrative burdens being demanded of us. That is highly unlikely because we are so far ahead in the field compared with most other member states, but we will bear that concern in mind.
Mr Clarke
Compensation for victims has been established here for very many years. We would like to see good standards established throughout the European Union because British subjects are victims of crime when they travel and should be entitled to compensation. We have to get the balance right between the proportionality that the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South talked about and the excessive burdens that my hon. Friend the Member for Stone warned against. That is the kind of thing that we can do in the detailed negotiations that will undoubtedly have to take place before the directive can be applied.
I welcome this debate. The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South raised, as he was quite entitled to, all kinds of aspects of victim support of a wholly domestic nature to which we will pay attention, as we are hoping to modernise our own code. I assure right hon. and hon. Members that we work very closely with the victims commissioner in this whole field and greatly value the contribution that she makes as an advocate of the victim’s cause. I also assure Members that decisions on opt-ins are guided, in the end, by what we regard as in the interests of British citizens and the national interest within the European Union. However, I take on board the feeling in the House that increased co-operation in this respect is plainly desirable as a benefit to all those Europeans who travel frequently throughout the Union. We will certainly take on board the views expressed by Members who have taken part in the debate when we take our decisions on all these subjects.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That this House takes note of European Union Documents No. 10610/11 and Addenda 1 and 2 relating to the Draft Directive establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, No. 10613/11 and Addenda 1 and 2 relating to the Draft Regulation on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters, No. 10612/11 and Addenda 1 and 2 relating to a Commission Communication–strengthening victims’ rights in the EU and the unnumbered Explanatory Memorandum dated 16 May 2011 relating to a Council Resolution on a Roadmap for strengthening the rights and protection of victims, in particular in criminal proceedings; and welcomes the opportunity to consider views on whether the UK should opt in to the draft Directive establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims and the Draft Regulation on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters.
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Lord Clarke of Nottingham Excerpts(12 years, 12 months ago)
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The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)
I have today published an updated policy on the use of the executive override under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the veto”) as it relates to information that engages the principle of collective responsibility under section 35(1) of the Freedom of Information Act.
The policy sets out the Government’s view that the veto should only be considered in exceptional circumstances and following the provision of a collective view by the Cabinet—a commitment which is consistent with the undertakings made to this House by the previous Administration during the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill. The policy has been updated to set out who would fulfil the role of “accountable person” for papers of this or previous Administrations.
Copies of the updated policy have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses, the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office. It will also be published online, at www.justice.gov.uk.
Detainee Inquiry
Lord Clarke of Nottingham Excerpts(13 years ago)
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The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)
The Government and the detainee inquiry have agreed the terms of reference and protocol for the inquiry’s work, which are being published today on the inquiry’s website at www.detaineeinquiry.org.uk, along with some frequently asked questions and answers about the inquiry and its preparatory phase to date.
As the Prime Minister said in announcing the detainee inquiry on 6 July 2010, the purpose of this inquiry is to examine whether, and if so to what extent, the UK Government and their intelligence agencies were involved in improper treatment, or rendition, of detainees held by other countries in counter-terrorism operations overseas, or were aware of improper treatment, or rendition, of detainees held by other countries in counter-terrorism operations in which the UK was involved. The primary focus is the aftermath of the attacks of 11 September 2001 and particularly cases involving the detention at Guantanamo Bay of UK nationals and former lawful UK residents.
The inquiry will also consider the evolution of the Government’s response to developing knowledge of the changing practices of other countries towards detainees in counter-terrorism operations in this period. This will include how the response was implemented in Departments and the security and intelligence agencies. The Prime Minister has asked the inquiry to report to him within one year of commencing. The inquiry will identify any lessons to be learned and make recommendations for the future, to which the Government have undertaken to publish a formal response.
The Government hope that the inquiry will be able to start as soon as it is possible to do so. However, as the Prime Minister made clear in his public letter of 6 July 2010 to the right hon. Sir Peter Gibson, the inquiry chair, this depends on the end of related criminal processes, the timing of which is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
The Government are grateful to the inquiry for the important preparatory work it has done to date and which it will continue to do. The inquiry is a vital part of the set of measures announced by the Prime Minister that aim to draw a firm line under the serious questions that have been raised about the United Kingdom’s actions. We want to understand properly what happened and to learn any necessary lessons. We look forward to the detainee inquiry being able to get under way formally in due course and will make a further statement to the House when in a position to do so.