London Attack

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Khalid Mahmood

Thursday 23rd March 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That shows the importance of all our faiths working together, recognising the values we share. As he says, this act of terror was not an act of faith. A perversion—a warped ideology—leads to such acts of terrorism, and it will not prevail.

[Mr Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham, Perry Barr) (Lab)]

My prayers are with all those who were injured, with all those who lost their lives and their families, and particularly with PC Keith Palmer, who made the ultimate sacrifice. This attacker and people like him are not of my religion, nor are they of our community. We should condemn all who pretend to be of a religion when they are not, because if they were of a religion, they would not be carrying out acts like this one. We have to stay united, and show them that they cannot win on these grounds and that we are here to stay.

[The Prime Minister]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for the comments he has just made and for the stance he has consistently taken on terrorism. He has been very clear that, as he says, this is not of his religion. A perversion and a warped, evil mentality leads to these acts of terror.

Brussels Terrorist Attacks

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Khalid Mahmood

Wednesday 23rd March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

We gave extra powers to the police and the authorities in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. Over and above that, when somebody returns, we make sure they are looked at case by case. For some people, certain interventions will be necessary and will be put in place, but that will be determined case by case.

[Mr Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham, Perry Barr) (Lab)]

Regrettably, I stand again to condemn barbaric attacks, this time in Brussels and Turkey, and to say that these people are not of my faith and should not be considered by anybody to be linked to my faith.

I congratulate the Home Secretary on the budget for the intelligence and security services, but will she also look seriously at the issues with Border Force—in particular, people with e-passports who are validated but not checked properly to see where they have been? Will she reconsider the funding for local policing, particularly for community support officers and local police officers? They contribute hugely to tackling radicalisation and dealing with the intelligence they come across. Finally, will she look at the issues of hate crime affecting all communities and ensure that local authorities and police can deal with them?

[Mrs May]

On hate crime, the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. It is an issue we have taken up with the police. By looking at how we record hate crime, we hope to build a better picture of exactly what is happening. I commend him for the resolute stand he has consistently taken. This is sadly not the first time he has stood up in the Chamber, following an attack, to say they do not take place in his name. That message is echoed throughout Muslim communities in the UK. On e-passports, obviously e-gates have security capabilities, and we look at the number of Border Force staff available to support those going through them, but, in themselves, the e-gates are part of our security resilience at the border.

Counter-terrorism

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Khalid Mahmood

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

We have taken a number of increased powers in relation to people who may be coming into the country to do us harm. First of all, we put our no-fly scheme on a statutory basis in legislation that we passed early last year. We also introduced in that same legislation the new temporary exclusion orders, which enable us to manage the return of individuals of concern when they are British citizens and cannot be rendered stateless. Decisions on that are taken on a case-by-case basis.

We also enhanced the ability of the Government to remove British citizenship from those who might be in the position of having alternative citizenship. We have increased our ability to take citizenship away from those individuals when there is a concern about the threat they might pose to the United Kingdom.

[Mr Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham, Perry Barr) (Lab)]

Further to the question by my right hon. Friend the shadow Home Secretary, will the Home Secretary confirm what increase she has made in the number of Border Force staff to enable her to carry out full exit controls? When does she plan to have full controls for the people who are returning, and what implications will that have? How will she deal with the issue of biometric passports when people are returning on that basis?

[Mrs May]

For the benefit of the House, let me say that I think there are some inaccurate assumptions about the way in which exit checks are undertaken. It is not the case that every single exit check will be undertaken by a member of Border Force staff checking somebody’s passport as they go through a point of exit. A lot of this information comprises data that are being gathered electronically, and it is therefore not necessary for Border Force staff to be available to undertake that task.

Paris Terrorist Attacks

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Khalid Mahmood

Monday 16th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I am aware that an incident took place at Gatwick airport, which was dealt with very professionally by the police. I certainly commend the work of the Sussex police at Gatwick airport, but also for their wider work to keep people within the county safe.

[Mr Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham, Perry Barr) (Lab)]

I wish to add my condolences, and to affirm that these people are not of my faith and should not be regarded as such.

I pay tribute to our police and security services for the continued excellent work that they do to keep us safe. I acknowledge the new funding that has been announced and the Home Secretary’s comments on Islamophobia, but will she look at the Border Force staffing that is needed? It is not only the key airports that need to be looked at; all of our ports and airports need to be looked at, and the more resources we have to deal with them, the better.

[Mrs May]

May I first welcome the statement that the hon. Gentleman made? It is important that he has made that statement in this House, and that message should go out across the whole country.

We do look at staffing across not just airports, but sea ports and—obviously, in relation to St Pancras—railway stations as well. We are constantly looking at the appropriate staffing and at the measures in place to maintain security, which we of course review on an ongoing basis.

Refugee Crisis in Europe

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Khalid Mahmood

Tuesday 8th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely correct and I shall say a little more about that in a minute or two. We have very good co-operation with other member states in the European Union on these issues. As he says, the police co-operation we are encouraging is indeed a very good sign of the work that is taking place.

[Mr Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham, Perry Barr) (Lab)]

Will the Home Secretary give way?

[Mrs May]

I will take the hon. Gentleman’s intervention, but thereafter I really should not take any further interventions given the number of people who wish to speak in this debate.

[Mr Mahmood]

Does the Home Secretary not agree that rather than just looking at the borders of Europe, we need to go further into the Mediterranean? That is where people are being exploited and put in unseaworthy vessels. People, including young people and women, are suffocating to death. We need to take action there, at that point, to stop the loss of life, rather than leaving them to try to travel here and drown.