Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2026, to question 22809 on Defence: Seized Articles, if the former Attorney General played a part in attempting to (a) release or (b) recover the seized articles from the Polish authorities.
Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by the Law Officers, or requested of the Law Officers, and the Convention applies to your question.
The Law Officers’ Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:
“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 13 October 2025]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps she has taken in preparation for a legal challenge by Argentina via the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea regarding the Sea Lion Project in the North Falkland Basin.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by the Law Officers, or requested of the Law Officers, and the Convention applies to your question.
The Law Officers’ Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:
“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 13 October 2025]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 6957 on Repatriation: Syria, how many people have been prosecuted upon return to the UK for crimes committed overseas as a foreign fighter under the Terrorism Acts.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
The Crown Prosecution Service does not collate or publish specific data on categories of offender such as individuals who have returned to the UK following participation in any conflicts overseas.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 115462 on Sovereignty: Chagos Islands, how many times has the Attorney General met with Dapo Akande.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
The Attorney and Dapo have met on 5 occasions, including the Attorney General endorsing Dapo Akande’s candidacy to be a judge to the International Court of Justice.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, if the Attorney General whether he provided advice to (a) the Prime Minister and (b) the Secretary of State for Local Government on the original decision to cancel local elections in May 2026.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
By long standing convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.
This convention protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full and frank legal advice and provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, on how many occasions the Attorney General held discussions with Dapo Akande on the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
The Attorney General has never engaged in discussion with Dapo Akande on the UK-Mauritius Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, on how many occasions did the Attorney General meet with Philippe Sands KC in discussions on the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
The Attorney General has never engaged in discussion with Philippe Sands KC on the UK-Mauritius Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, whether the Attorney General has provided legal advice on granting permission to the United States to launch offensive military action against Iran from (a) Diego Garcia and (b) RAF Fairford.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
As you may know, the Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by the Law Officers, or requested of the Law Officers, and the Convention applies to your question.
The Law Officers’ Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:
“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many people have been prosecuted for flying a drone in a Restricted Fly Zone around (a) closed prisons and (b) young offender institutions since January 2024.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
Flying a drone in the restricted airspace around a closed prison or young offender institution is an offence contrary to the Air Navigation Order 2016. The Civil Aviation Authority is responsible for investigating and prosecuting this offence and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any data in respect of it. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any data which shows the number of defendants prosecuted and convicted of offences created by the Prison Act 1952 including the offences created by sections 40B, 40C and 40CB. Similarly, no data is held showing the method of used to convey items into or out of a prison or young offender institution. To establish how many defendants charged with these offences were prosecuted and if a drone was used would require a manual review of case files and this would be at disproportionate cost. Management information is available from 2024 which shows the number of offences charged by way of section 40B, 40C and 40CB in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of these offences from 1st January 2024 to 30th September 2025.
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Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what assessment he has made of the legality of the US military operation to capture President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by the Law Officers, or requested of the Law Officers, and the Convention applies to your question.
The Law Officers’ Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:
“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”