Jagtar Singh Johal

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Wednesday 7th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rehman Chishti]

It is a real pleasure to face the shadow Minister, and I look forward—if I am in post—to exchanging views with her on these specific points. First, she raised the actions or non-actions of the former Prime Minister with regard to this specific case. It is important, when such an accusation is made, that it is fully and thoroughly investigated and looked at. That will be done by the High Court. As I say, Mr Johal has an active civil litigation case against Her Majesty’s Government on this matter. That is an issue before the court, and we must let the legal process take its course. I therefore cannot and will not comment on this matter, in line with long-established practice, as I am sure she appreciates.

I am also sure that the hon. Lady would agree that we all in this House respect the separation of power between the Executive, the judiciary and the legislature, and, with regard to the intelligence agencies, the various checks and balances. We have the Intelligence and Security Committee, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal and the Investigatory Powers Commissioner. There is no doubt that the accusations that have been made need to be fully and thoroughly looked at, in line with the High Court case.

The hon. Lady’s second point related to human rights and our engagement with India. Let me make it clear: we believe that trade is vital for our economy and future prosperity, but that in no way compromises the United Kingdom’s commitment to upholding human rights at the core of our foreign policy. We will not pursue trade to the exclusion of human rights. We regard both as important parts of a deep, mature and wide-ranging relationship with our international trading partners. The “2030 Roadmap for India-UK future relations”, which was agreed by the former Prime Minister with Prime Minister Modi, has a specific agreement about a commitment to resolving long-running or complex consular cases.

On the other specific cases that hon. Lady raised, I see the Minister for Asia and the Middle East on the Front Bench, who covers a different thematic region in the world, and she will no doubt take them on board. I am happy to ensure that the hon. Lady gets an answer about what the Government are doing on those matters.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (Martin Docherty-Hughes) on pursuing this case on behalf of his constituent. He has been assiduous in pursuing justice for Jagtar Singh Johal. I will come back to the plight of Jagtar Singh Johal rather than the case against the Government. I understand that he is a member of the Khalistani Liberation Force, which is a proscribed organisation in India. Indeed, at the moment he is facing up to eight charges of murder or attempted murder. Will my hon. Friend ensure that consular assistance is provided to him so that he gets a fair trial, and then we can deal with the issues that result?

[Martin Docherty-Hughes]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.