Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrants attempting to enter the United Kingdom illegally in small boats have died in the English Channel in each of the last five years: how many such fatalities were children; and how many occurred in (a) UK and (b) French territorial waters.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
There have been 31 tragedies, since August 2019, where 97 people are confirmed to have died and at least 14 people have been reported as missing at sea, presumed dead, as a result of or linked to attempting these dangerous crossings.
Numbers of fatalities
Date | Confirmed fatalities |
2024 (to 05/09/24) | 37 |
2023 | 12 |
2022 | 4 |
2021 | 34 |
2020 | 6 |
2019 | 4 |
TOTAL | 97 |
A total of eight minors are reported to have died in the fatal incidents that have occurred this year. Prior to this, the only known minor fatalities occurred as a result of an incident in October 2020 when an entire family group, including 3 children, died following the capsizing of a migrant vessel.
Almost all fatalities have occurred in French Territorial Waters (TTW). There has been one incident (on 14 December 2022), involving the deaths of 4 people, which undoubtedly took place within UK TTW. However, an earlier tragedy – the loss of 27 people in a single incident in November 2021 – was proven after investigation to have partially occurred within UK TTW. It is subject to an ongoing Art.2 Human Rights Inquiry led by Sir Ross Cranston.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what circumstances an individual arrested for murder is (a) held in custody and (b) released on police bail.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
A suspect arrested on suspicion of murder may be held in custody before charge where the custody officer a) is determining whether he has before him sufficient evidence to charge them with the offence for which he was arrested and b) has reasonable grounds for believing that the suspect’s detention is necessary to obtain evidence (for example, witness statements, interview, or medical examination) (PACE section 37). There are statutory limits on the time for which suspects can be held in custody without charge (section 41).
A suspect arrested, including on suspicion of murder, may be released within the authorised detention period on conditional or unconditional police bail, pre-charge, a) where there is as yet insufficient evidence to charge a suspect and they are released pending further investigation and b) where the police consider that there is sufficient evidence to charge, but the matter must be referred to the CPS for a charging decision (PACE section 35 and section 37).
Preconditions for police bail include the need to prevent offending by the suspect, the need to safeguard victims of crime and witnesses, the need to manage risks to the public and the need to secure the suspect’s surrender to custody (PACE section 50A). Where the individual’s release is required and no pre-conditions for bail are met, they must be released under investigation or subject to no further action (section 37).
Where a murder suspect is to be released on pre-charge bail, police should seek the views of close family members of the alleged victim, if it is reasonably practicable to do so, when deciding whether the suspect should be released on bail, and if so whether and what conditions should be imposed (section 47ZZA).
Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (CJPOA 1994), suspects who have been charged with murder are not eligible for police bail pending appearance at court for that offence unless exceptional circumstances apply (PACE section 38(1)(c) and section 25 CJPOA 1994). They must be kept in police custody and brought before a court not later, in most cases, than the first sitting after they are charged with the offence (section 46).
The rules and procedures relating to police bail are governed by PACE and the Bail Act 1976.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will have discussions with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police on the (a) circumstances which led the police to cancel a prayer walk for Israel and the Jewish people, organised by Christian Action Against Anti-Antisemitism to take place in Golders Green on 21 October 2023, (b) the basis on which the police determined that tweets by supporters of a pro-Palestinian march scheduled for the same day seven miles away constituted a sufficient level of threat to require cancellation of the Golders Green event and (c) whether the police plan to investigate those tweets further.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Home Office is in regular contact with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) regarding the recent protests following the devastating events in Israel.
The management of protests is an operational matter for the police, as are decisions around investigations. The Home Office cannot intervene on specific operational decisions of this nature, to do so would undermine their independence.
The MPS have confirmed that an officer provided advice and guidance to the organisers of the prayer walk. Following those discussions, a decision was made by the organiser to cancel the vigil.
The MPS do not have the power to prohibit a public procession without the consent of the Secretary of State.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what advice his Department provides to rescue services that pick up migrants in small boats in the English Channel in (a) international and (b) UK territorial waters on where they can land those rescued; and what (i) domestic and (ii) international legal advice he has received on whether they can be landed on the territory of the last safe country from which they embarked.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Rescues of people making dangerous, illegal and unnecessary crossings of the Channel in small boats are directed and coordinated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and are subject to the UK's obligations under the SAR and SOLAS Conventions and UNCLOS. The policy on where, when and how those people are rescued therefore lies with MCA and not the Home Office.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to assist people from Afghanistan who (a) formally assisted UK armed forces and (b) have been cleared by the Ministry of Defence as qualifying for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme to complete the visa process necessary to enter the UK from (i) Afghanistan, (ii) a neighbouring country and (iii) a safe third country.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Afghan citizens and their family members who are assessed as eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) are referred by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to the Home Office for permission to enter the UK subject to the enrolment of biometrics and security checks.
Whilst there is currently no option to enrol biometrics in Afghanistan, we are working with the authorities in neighbouring countries and with international partners to carry out biometric enrolment in as efficient a manner as possible.
Applications are assessed against the Immigration Rules by the Home Office with entry clearance issued to those who are eligible for relocation to the UK. This allows for flight and accommodation arrangements to be made.
It is vital that those arriving have somewhere suitable to stay once they’re in the UK. We are working at pace with Local Authorities and other partners to source suitable accommodation.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Home Office Hub in Portcullis House as a means of successfully processing MPs’ casework arising out of the invasion of Ukraine; for what reasons the Hub has been discontinued; and if she will make it her policy to establish similar arrangements within the Palace of Westminster to progress casework arising from the (a) Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and (b) obligations accepted by the UK to save Afghan former interpreters and other locally employed civilians who are now at risk for having helped UK armed forces during NATO’s intervention.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Following the closure of the Portcullis House hub, we have now set up a national programme of engagement events enabling MPs and their caseworkers to meet with Home Office officials nearer to their constituencies.
Urgent enquiries, including passport and Ukraine visa applications should be sent to the Urgent inbox mpurgentqueries@homeoffice.gov.uk.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on (a) extending the visa expiry dates and (b) offering other measures of relief to Russian (i) Tier 5 unpaid charity volunteers, (ii) students at UK universities whose courses are coming to an end and (iii) other citizens stranded in the UK as a result of sanctions imposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Someone subject to immigration control who is legally present in the UK is expected to leave the UK before the expiry of their current permission, or to make an in-time application for permission to stay on a route for which they meet the requirements.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 1 Investor visa applications by people from Russia led to the granting of British citizenship in each year since 2008, broken down by people who subsequently (a) retained and (b) renounced Russian citizenship.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The data is not available. Immigration statistics for the year ending December 2021 are published at Migration statistics. While these include statistics for naturalisation as a British citizen based on residence, they do not identify the specific routes of entry used to secure that residence.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2022 to Question 129730 on British nationality: Russia, if she will urgently take steps to ascertain how many high net-worth Russian people were granted British citizenship in each year since 2010 broken down by people who subsequently (a) retained and (b) renounced Russian citizenship.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As set out in my answer to question 129730, the requirements for a person to register or naturalise as a British citizen are set out in the British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA81). All applications for British citizenship are considered against the relevant requirements of the BNA81.
The net worth of an individual is not a basis on which an application for British citizenship would be granted. Therefore, we do not hold the data as requested as no information relating to an applicant’s net-worth is captured as part of the application process for British citizenship.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many high net-worth Russian people were granted British citizenship on the basis of their wealth in each year since 2010 broken down by people who subsequently (a) retained and (b) renounced Russian citizenship.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The requirements for a person to register or naturalise as a British citizen is set out in the British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA81). The net worth of an individual is not a basis on which an application for British citizenship would be granted.
All applications for British citizenship are considered against the relevant requirements of the BNA81. Consequently, we do not hold the data as requested.