Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many requests for diplomatic protection have been made by British citizens since 2014.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold statistics on the number of requests for diplomatic protection made by British nationals. Any requests for diplomatic protection would be considered on a case-by-case basis, and it is exercised at the Secretary of State's discretion.
Diplomatic protection is a claim by one State against another in respect of an international legal wrong committed against one of its nationals. Diplomatic protection is extremely rare – the case of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is the only recent example of where UK has afforded it.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has an access to justice unit within its consular directorate.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The access to justice unit was established in January 2015 to lead on consular support provided to families bereaved through murder or manslaughter. This followed an internal review of the support offered to these families conducted in 2014, and recommendations made by the Foreign Affairs Committee in their 2014 Report on Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Consular Services. The name of the unit was changed to the Murder and Manslaughter Team shortly after it was established to better reflect the unit’s purpose as a dedicated team supporting those bereaved through murder or manslaughter overseas. This includes working closely with our posts overseas on these often complex and long-running cases.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which countries require UK citizens to purchase travel insurance as a condition of entry.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) strongly encourages all British people travelling abroad to take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance before they travel, regardless of their destination. We do not maintain an exhaustive list of countries where evidence of travel insurance cover may be required as a condition of entry, as a range of evidence can be requested as part of individual visa applications. British people travelling abroad can check the relevant FCO travel advice country page for information and advice on entry requirements for their destination country, and should contact the embassy of the country they are visiting if they need further guidance about their eligibility to enter. Responsibility for determining eligibility for entry rests with the immigration authorities in the country concerned.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department's guidance is on responding to the (a) death, (b) torture and (c) imprisonment of British citizens abroad.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The assistance the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) can provide to British nationals abroad is set out in the publication: Support for British nationals abroad: A Guide. It includes information on what we can do in cases of death abroad (page 21), for victims of torture and mistreatment (page 17), and for those in detention or prison overseas (page 19). It also includes information on who the FCO can help (page 6). In all cases, the level and type of assistance we offer is tailored to the individual circumstances of each case
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what criteria his Department uses to assess whether consular assistance is provided after the (a) death, (b) torture and (c) imprisonment of a British citizen abroad.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The assistance the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) can provide to British nationals abroad is set out in the publication: Support for British nationals abroad: A Guide. It includes information on what we can do in cases of death abroad (page 21), for victims of torture and mistreatment (page 17), and for those in detention or prison overseas (page 19). It also includes information on who the FCO can help (page 6). In all cases, the level and type of assistance we offer is tailored to the individual circumstances of each case
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will set out the criteria used to assess whether diplomatic protection is provided following the torture or imprisonment of a British citizen whilst overseas.
Answered by Mark Field
Diplomatic protection is a mechanism under international law according to which a State may seek to secure reparation for injury to one of its nationals, on the basis that the second State has committed an internationally wrongful act against the national. The general threshold conditions required in order for a State to consider whether or not to exercise diplomatic protection are generally accepted to be: (i) the commission of an internationally wrongful act; (ii) the exhaustion of local remedies; and (iii) proof of nationality, or, in the case of a dual national, predominant nationality. Diplomatic protection is rarely used. Any request for diplomatic protection would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what criteria is applied to a decision on whether a British citizen receives consular assistance or diplomatic protection.
Answered by Mark Field
Diplomatic protection is a mechanism under international law according to which a State may seek to secure reparation for injury to one of its nationals, on the basis that the second State has committed an internationally wrongful act against the national. As a consequence, diplomatic protection is rarely used. Any request for diplomatic protection would be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Diplomatic protection is distinct from consular assistance where a State provides help to its nationals who find themselves in trouble in another State. The assistance the Foreign and Commonwealth Office can provide to British nationals abroad is set out in the publication: Support for British nationals abroad: A Guide.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2019 to Question 208405, how many of those deaths abroad due to murder or manslaughter were British citizens residing in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Our case management system does not break down numbers of British nationals who died abroad by residency in Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of British citizens who have died abroad as a result of (a) murder and (b) manslaughter in each year since 2000.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We estimate there are approximately 60-90 new cases of British nationals who have died abroad as a result of murder or manslaughter reported to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office every year. Our current case management system includes data from 2008 only and does not differentiate between murder and manslaughter. These figures can be found below:
2008 – 66
2009 – 68
2010 – 68
2011 – 78
2012 – 53
2013 – 78
2014 – 84
2015 – 88
2016 – 65
2017 – 74
2018 - 73