Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dominic Raab and Mark Pritchard

Wednesday 29th April 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. As he will know, because it has been made clear by the Government and clarified when it was not clear, the original issue was a failure of communication—we did not get the original invitation to tender. It is clear to us that the schemes in relation to the first batch of EU-wide procurement would not have made any significant extra difference or added any value to what we are doing here. I can tell him that we will look at any future EU-wide procurement initiatives, for example, on therapeutics. I can also reassure him that one thing we are doing is working very closely with our European partners on returns and repatriations. That is somewhere we have taken advantage of EU-wide schemes if they can help us to share costs. That is the collaborative, internationalist approach that the UK Government take.

[Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)]

The horticultural sector is vital to Shropshire’s economy, employing thousands of people. Notwithstanding the First Secretary’s earlier response, may I ask that in phase 1 of any unlock, the garden centres and seasonal nurseries will be allowed to open, albeit with careful and considered strict guidelines

[Dominic Raab]

I thank my hon. Friend for that second plea for garden centres and nurseries. This is absolutely right, and I understand entirely why it is so important, both economically and socially, particularly for certain members of our community, for whom it will be an important means of getting outdoors and getting out of the lockdown. SAGE has already considered this once, and I know it will consider garden centres and nurseries again. I know that he will expect us to continue to be guided by the evidence, but he has made his point in a powerful way and it is firmly registered that this is an important area to look at for the future.

British Citizens Abroad: FCO Help to Return Home

Debate between Dominic Raab and Mark Pritchard

Tuesday 24th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The Transport Secretary is already engaged in those discussions with individual airlines. There is a practical, legal question of whether those airlines can get into the relevant countries and jurisdictions, and that is why I will be raising the matter at G7 level tomorrow.

[Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)]

The Foreign Secretary has mentioned thousands, and in one reply he said that hundreds of thousands of UK citizens are currently abroad. Could he provide the House with a more definitive estimate of the number of UK citizens abroad? He will recall that last week I pressed him on the use of the Royal Air Force in extremis. What further discussions has he had with Defence Ministers on deploying the RAF when required?

Covid-19

Debate between Dominic Raab and Mark Pritchard

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)]

I agree with the Foreign Secretary that we cannot repatriate everybody; it is just physically impossible. Following on from the very good question asked by the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) about exceptional circumstances, may I ask about those who are most vulnerable? Given that we have been told by our own Prime Minister that we are at war with an invisible enemy—the covid-19 virus—what discussions has the Foreign Secretary had with the Ministry of Defence about deploying the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, and even about using bases around the world as staging posts if need be, when the international airlines further restrict flights, to repatriate the most vulnerable—not everybody, but the most vulnerable?

[Dominic Raab]

Obviously I have engaged very closely with the Defence Secretary on this, but something like that would be a last resort. We do not rule anything out at this stage, but our focus—I think this is the point that the hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Neil Coyle) and others have made—has been on making sure that we are working very closely with not just the international airlines, but other countries. This is happening with some of the cruise shops we are dealing with from which we have not yet repatriated, because we can work together as an international team to try to get UK nationals back. That partnership will definitely involve Governments around the world, and also airlines around the world.

Immigration Bill

Debate between Dominic Raab and Mark Pritchard

Thursday 30th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Raab]

I know that my hon. Friend takes a close interest in these matters, and I shall try to address his point very squarely. I urge him to intervene again if he feels that I have not done so satisfactorily, in which case I shall spell out my argument more clearly.

My new clause differs from the clauses in part 2 in that it is mandatory. Serious offenders cannot pull out and wield article 8 as a joker to trump deportation. Unless there is a tangible threat to life or limb, those convicted killers, rapists, drug dealers and other serious criminals should be sent home: they should not remain on the streets of Britain.

I spent a long time crafting and consulting on my new clause. It allows a very narrow exception to the wider automaticity of deportation when that is in the overwhelming humanitarian interests of the children involved, but the discretion is to be exercised by the Home Secretary rather than the courts. The new clause uses a Home Office mechanism, or model, to protect that discretion from human rights challenges by expressly stipulating that the only challenge can be by way of judicial review.

[Mark Pritchard]

As my hon. Friend knows, I am one of the co-signatories of the new clause. However, the Home Secretary legitimately raised the possibility of unintended consequences should the new clause remove the discretion and flexibility that currently exists in relation to the discretion to deport someone who has been in prison for less than 12 months.

[Mr Raab]

My hon. Friend has made a perfectly reasonable point, but the new clause is tailored to serious criminals, which is all the more reason for it to be considered reasonable and proportionate. Of course, if the Government wish to insert a provision covering persistent petty offenders—which would be far more likely to attract challenges under article 8, because in the case of less serious offences deportation is more likely to be deemed disproportionate—they will be able to do so. However—it is odd to be attacked for not being tough enough—I think that the main focus should be on those who are jailed for a year or more. That is the model in the UK Borders Act 2007.