Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals entering the UK from Israel or Palestine, who are not UK–Israeli citizens or IDF veterans or serving personnel, the UK Border Force detained for questioning in the periods (1) October 2023 to present, (2) October 2022–October 2023, and (3) October 2021–October 2022.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force does not publish information on operational activities. Doing so would publicise operational practices which would be used to assist in the evasion of customs controls and compromise border security.
However, the Home Office published data can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65d887a154f1e70011165914/passengers-refused-entry-border-datasets-dec-2023.xlsx.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) UK–Israeli citizens, and (2) IDF veterans or serving personnel, the UK Border Force detained for questioning in the periods (a) October 2023 to present, (b) October 2022–October 2023, and (c) October 2021–October 2022.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force does not publish information on operational activities. Doing so would publicise operational practices which would be used to assist in the evasion of customs controls and compromise border security.
However, the Home Office published data can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65d887a154f1e70011165914/passengers-refused-entry-border-datasets-dec-2023.xlsx.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what policies, guidance and practices the Border Force has adopted in relation to the arrival of (1) Israeli nationals, and (2) individuals with joint UK–Israeli citizenship in the UK; and whether there has been any change in this policy and its operation since October 2023.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force’s number one priority is to keep our borders safe and secure, and we will never compromise on this.
Border Force would not comment on individual policies that could jeopardise border security.
Border Force performs checks on 100% of passengers arriving at the UK border on scheduled services, enabling interventions against those known or suspected to pose a risk to the national interest.
There are many reasons why a Border Force Officer may feel it necessary to ask additional questions to satisfy themselves of eligibility to enter. Officers carry out checks that are deemed necessary in accordance with immigration procedures.
In the UK, the Immigration Rules require all arriving passengers, regardless of their nationality or country they arrived from, to establish their eligibility for admission. To maintain a safe and secure border, a passenger’s passport or national identity card is checked. There are also times when extra checks are conducted.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what policies, guidance and practices the Border Force has adopted in relation to the arrival in the UK of (1) Israeli nationals, and (2) individuals with joint UK–Israeli citizenship, who have served in the IDF.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force’s number one priority is to keep our borders safe and secure, and we will never compromise on this.
Border Force would not comment on individual policies that could jeopardise border security.
Border Force performs checks on 100% of passengers arriving at the UK border on scheduled services, enabling interventions against those known or suspected to pose a risk to the national interest.
There are many reasons why a Border Force Officer may feel it necessary to ask additional questions to satisfy themselves of eligibility to enter. Officers carry out checks that are deemed necessary in accordance with immigration procedures.
In the UK, the Immigration Rules require all arriving passengers, regardless of their nationality or country they arrived from, to establish their eligibility for admission. To maintain a safe and secure border, a passenger’s passport or national identity card is checked. There are also times when extra checks are conducted.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Ministry of Justice has spent on the Issues in Countering Terrorism course by the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College London in the last 12 months, and on what dates the training has taken place.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The ‘Issues in Countering Terrorism’ course by the Centre for Defence Studies at King’s College London is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, rather than by the Ministry of Justice, and administered through a Cabinet Office contract. Therefore, Ministry of Justice spend on the course is zero.
In the last 12 months, the course took place on the following dates: 28 February to 02 March; 28 to 30 March; 18, 19 and 21 September; and 18 to 20 December.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Ministry of Defence has spent on the Issues in Countering Terrorism course by the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College London in the last 12 months, and on what dates the training has taken place.
Answered by Earl of Minto
In the last 12 months a total of nine Ministry of Defence (MOD) personnel have attended the 'Issues in Countering Terrorism' course at King's College London across three iterations: 28 - 30 March; 18 - 12 September; and 18 - 20 December. Because the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office commissions the course for HM Government, MOD has incurred no cost related to this attendance.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has spent on the Issues in Countering Terrorism course by the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College London in the last 12 months, and on what dates the training has taken place.
Answered by Lord Benyon
The Issues in Countering Terrorism course, delivered by King's College London, was held four times in 2023: 28th February to 2nd March; 28th to 30th March; 18th, 19th and 21st September; and 18th to 20th December. The FCDO has spent £109,583.68 on those courses in total, with 32 people attending each course. The course is administered through a Cabinet Office contract.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the different presentations given to civil servants on the Issues in Countering Terrorism course by the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College London, redacted as necessary for national security and public safety.
Answered by Lord Benyon
The FCDO does not own the Intellectual Property Rights for the presentations given on the course and cannot place them in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Home Office has spent on the Issues in Countering Terrorism course by the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College London in the last 12 months, and on what dates the training has taken place.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Issues in Countering Terrorism course, delivered by King's College London, was held four times in 2023: 28th February to 2nd March; 28th to 30th March; 18th, 19th and 21st September; and 18th to 20th December. The FCDO has spent £109,583.68 on those courses in total, with 32 people attending each course. The course is administered through a Cabinet Office contract.
Civil servants attend a variety of training courses in order to learn. As required by the Civil Service Code, and as the public rightly expects, all civil servants must act impartially.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide further advice to the Metropolitan Police and other territorial police forces as to the selection of, and relationships with, strategic partners, with a view to ensuring diversity in approach but excluding partnerships with those who have expressed extremist views, following recent reports concerning two members of the London Muslim Communities Forum.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Police operate independently from the Home Office. The Prevent Duty Guidance (2023) provides recommendations to police on what to consider when conducting due diligence and ensuring they have an understanding of associated risks.
The Government does not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives and efforts to counter extremism span a broad range of Government and law enforcement activity and we must persist in our efforts to challenge extremist narratives, disrupt the activity of radicalising groups, and directly tackle the causes of radicalisation.