Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to respond to (a) Question 162501 tabled on 3 March 2021 and (b) Question 163140 tabled on 4 March 2021 by the Rt. hon. Member for New Forest East.
Answered by Nigel Adams
My officials have been in touch with the Table Office and discovered an IT issue with the submission portal. This has now been corrected to show that these questions were both answered on time on 8 and 9 March.
Responses to these questions can be found on the Parliamentary website at https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-03-04/163140 and https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-03-03/162501
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the approximate numbers of captive Isil/Daesh fighters held, respectively, in regions of Syria under the control of (a) Syrian, (b) Turkish, (c) Kurdish and (d) any other armed forces or groups hostile to Isil/Daesh; under what circumstances and to which destinations those fighters are being released, if at all, from captivity in each of those differently controlled areas; and to which of those four categories of armed forces or groups is the UK giving military assistance to suppress Isil/Daesh.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK has not made an estimate of the numbers of Daesh fighters held across Syria. We are aware of reports that provide an estimate, including by the UN. Any decision in relation to the continued detention, transfer or prosecution of detainees is ultimately a matter for the authorities under whose jurisdiction the individuals are detained. The UK continues to encourage all parties to adhere to their legal obligations. As a leading member of the Global Coalition we work with all Coalition members and the Coalition's partner forces to continue tackling the threat from Daesh.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) regional and (b) global implications for tackling terrorism of a return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The US-Taliban agreement includes conditions about preventing international terrorists operating from Afghan soil. The UK will remain committed to tackling the threat from terrorist groups in Afghanistan, including from Daesh/ISKP (Islamic State in Khorasan Province), Al Qaeda and their affiliates. We continue to work closely with the US and NATO Allies to protect our shared interests. Regional stability and human and economic development are interconnected with reducing the threat from terrorism.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the BBC World Service in expanding (a) its reach to additional countries, (b) the number of its language services broadcast and (c) the overall size of its global audience; what recent assessment has has made of the contribution of the World Service to global understanding of major developments in (i) Burma, (ii) China and (iii) Russia; what plans his Department has to restored ring-fenced funding of the BBC World Service for 2021-22; what plans he has to make an assessment of the role of the BBC World Service as part of the Integrated Review; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The FCDO strongly values the work of the BBC World Service in promoting UK values globally through its independent and impartial broadcasting, which is vital especially in places where media freedom is limited or otherwise curtailed.
We have provided the World Service with over £378m over 5 years (2016-21) through the World2020 programme, in order to fund enhancements to existing language services and 12 new language services. The World Service now reaches a record breaking 351m people weekly, an over 40% increase since the programme began in 2016, demonstrating the impact of FCDO investment. Future funding for the World Service is being considered alongside other FCDO spending priorities at SR20 and the role of the BBC World Service, and other soft power assets, is being considered as part of the Integrated Review.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the BBC Monitoring Service in providing open source information to (a) his Department, (b) the Ministry of Defence and (c) the Cabinet Office; what recent assessment he has made of the contribution that Service to the Government's understanding of (i) the covid-19 pandemic in affected countries and (ii) the poisoning of Alexei Navalny in Russia; what plans he has to (A) make an assessment of trends in the level of workload of the Service and (B) reverse Service staff funding reductions made on relocation from Caversham Park to Central London; if he will make it his policy to restore ring-fenced funding to the Service; what plans he has to make an assessment of the role of the Service as part of the Integrated Review; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
BBC Monitoring (BBCM) provides services for the whole of Government and consistently meets or exceeds all agreed performance metrics as set out in the Monitoring Agreement. The use of BBCM across government is increasing with 30 departments and agencies using the service. For example, BBCM outputs make a direct contribution to situational awareness in support of MOD activities worldwide, and the Open Source Unit (OSU) in the FCDO, relies on BBCM's unique media monitoring, reporting and analysis alongside other sources to provide situational awareness and understanding of the wider context to FCDO policy leads.
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of Government and therefore it is not appropriate for us to comment on matters such as staffing. The Government is satisfied with the current funding model and BBC Monitoring's ability to deliver the service based on agreed performance targets. The full conclusions of the Integrated Review will be published in due course.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the rights of UK citizens facing trial in US courts of the application of the US plea-bargaining process.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The US plea-bargaining process is a domestic policy issue for the US authorities. The assistance we can, and cannot, provide to British nationals abroad is set out in the publication 'Support for British nationals abroad: A Guide' on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-britishnationals-abroad-a-guide).
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for UK relations with Russia of the recording of alleged dialogue between Alexei Navalny and Konstantin Kudryavtsev on a failed assassination attempt, published by Bellingcat on 21 December 2020.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The recording of an alleged dialogue between Alexei Navalny and Konstantin Kudryavtsev, published by Bellingcat on 21 December 2020, underlines the need for the Russian authorities to undertake a thorough and transparent investigation into Mr Navalny's poisoning with a banned chemical weapon. The UK has been clear that Russia has a case to answer and that there is currently no other plausible explanation for Mr Navalny's poisoning other than Russian involvement and responsibility.
Any use of a chemical weapon is unacceptable. All States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), including Russia, are obliged to observe the Convention's complete prohibition of development, possession and use of chemical weapons as set out in the CWC. We have worked with international partners at the OPCW to call on Russia to investigate and credibly explain the use of a chemical weapon on its territory in line with its commitments under the CWC. So far, Russia has failed to do so. We will continue to work with international partners on our response to this attack.
The confirmed use of a chemical weapon against Mr Navalny and his latest detention further undermine democracy and political plurality in Russia.
We urge Russia to fulfil its commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and all other relevant instruments of the Council of Europe and Organisation for Security and Co- operation in Europe (OSCE) and to guarantee these rights, including the right to freedom of expression, to its citizens.
The current relationship with Russia is not the one we want. But there can be no normalisation in our bilateral relationship until Russia stops its irresponsible and destabilising activity that threatens the UK and its allies.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the recent report of the assassinations in Iran of a leading al-Qaeda organiser, what assessment he has made of the implications of that report for future UK policy to counter international terrorism.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are looking into media reports that Abu Muhammad al-Masri, a senior leader within Al-Qaeda, has been killed in Iran. These reports come on the back of a number of successful operations against senior leadership figures over the past year. However, the terrorist threat from Al-Qaeda remains. We will continue to work with international partners to fight all forms of terrorism globally, and we will work tirelessly to support those affected by it.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the US Government’s Clean Network initiative; what assessment the Government has made of the potential efficacy of that initiative in protecting the UK's digital network from (a) exploitation and (b) potential disruption by hostile states; and whether the Government plans to subscribe to that project.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The forthcoming Telecoms Security Bill will establish a robust framework to drive up security standards across the UK's telecoms providers and control the presence of equipment from High Risk Vendors in the UK's telecoms networks. We are aware of the US Clean Networks initiative and look forward to discussing further the detail of the initiative with the US to inform our assessment. We have a close dialogue with the US on telecoms security and the importance of diversification in the global telecoms market. We have engaged with them extensively following our decision in July that operators should remove all Huawei equipment from the 5G network by the end of 2027. For example we held senior expert level talks with them this September and the Foreign Secretary discussed telecoms with Secretary of State Pompeo during his visit in July.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what notice was given to the Government by the US Administration of its intention to cut the number of US troops in Germany by almost one-third; and what representations the Government have made on this proposal (a) directly and (b) via NATO to President Trump (i) before and (ii) since its announcement.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK Government does not comment on speculation. The United States and United Kingdom are strong partners and allies, with a uniquely close and active defence and security partnership. Ministers and officials regularly engage with the US on a wide range of security issues, both bilaterally and in NATO, including the deployment of US troops in Europe.