Jamal al-Harith

Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts

Thursday 23rd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

As you are aware, Mr Speaker, before I came to this place I worked as a Government lawyer. Although I did not work on this specific case, colleagues in the department in which I worked were involved in it.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

That is called hearsay evidence.

[Victoria Prentis]

No, it is not.

In this country, we have a proud tradition of law: law that supports not only people who are attractive to the general public, but those with whom the general public would not have sympathy. The question I wish to put to the Minister is this: to what extent has he worked and have this Government worked to enable the rule of law to be upheld and to enable the “secret courts” Act to come into effect so that we can study these cases properly?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Wallace]

I cannot comment on our operations, or on knowledge or surveillance, but I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that, as I have said, the powerful Intelligence and Security Committee can ask all these detailed questions and investigate unilaterally these issues to make sure that, if it needs the answers, it can get them and reassure the House on whether or not enough is being done.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister’s commitment to my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) to write to him and tell him which Minister took the decision about the compensation. The Minister mentioned the introduction of exit checks. Presumably, this individual was subject to an exit check when he left the country. Can the Minister give an account, from the Government’s point of view, of what happened in this case after that individual left the country?

[Mr Wallace]

As I said at the very beginning, I cannot comment on the individual case or the intelligence behind it. However, as I have said, the Intelligence and Security Committee is perfectly able to look into it. The point about which Minister took the decision is a bit of a red herring. The United Kingdom Government were obliged to make certain agreements because of the vulnerability they found themselves in as a result of 2004 and the allegations made when a number of Members on your Benches were members of the Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts

Monday 31st October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Goodwill]

I can give my hon. Friend the assurance that we are working hard to identify children who would qualify under Dubs and Dublin. It is very important indeed that we ensure that the most vulnerable, particularly the children under 13 and those who may be vulnerable to sexual exploitation, are prioritised under the Dubs amendment procedure.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

Bashir Naderi, who is 19, was trafficked to the UK at the age of 10 from Afghanistan after his father was murdered by the Taliban. I understand that this afternoon he was on his way to Gatwick to be removed from the country but that that has now been stopped. Will the Home Secretary accept my plea and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff Central (Jo Stevens), whose constituent Bashir is, to intervene urgently to stop this removal?

[Mr Goodwill]

Although it would be inappropriate for me to comment on individual cases, I am aware of this case. It is on my desk at present.

Child Refugees: Age Checks

Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts

Friday 21st October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Goodwill]

It is a matter of great concern that criminal gangs, particularly people traffickers, are in the camps. The best way to curtail the actions of those criminal gangs is to dismantle the camp and disperse the people around the country, where they are less able to be targeted. I am pleased that the Home Office, working with our French counterparts, has succeeded in making a number of arrests where people trafficking is going on, and we will continue to keep up the pressure.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

My constituent, Norman Vetter, sent me an extract this morning from the British Medical Journal, which states:

“Medical estimation of age is still inaccurate and the results are unreliable.”

It goes on to say:

“Age estimations have standard deviations of more than 12 months and are limited by intraindividual discrepancies, racial differences, and poor inter-rater reliability”,

and concludes:

“Ethically, it is hard to justify treating someone as an adult based on such unreliable data.”

Does the Minister agree?

[Mr Goodwill]

The hon. Gentleman is right. All the august medical and dental bodies that I quoted made it clear that medical or dental evidence cannot be used as a way of determining age. My own wisdom teeth did not come down until quite late in life. In many cases, those young people have not enjoyed the same nutrition as we have, so their stage of growth may vary. I underline the fact that all the evidence indicates that we cannot use medical or dental data. If the determination of age is necessary, there is the Merton process, which requires referral by two social workers and takes about 28 days. That method is used by social services throughout the country where an accurate determination of age is needed. That could not be done within the available time, even if we could do it on French territory.

Football Fan Violence: Euro 2016

Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts

Tuesday 14th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

Obviously the investigation of any incidents that have taken place will be primarily a matter for the French authorities. However, I can assure the hon. Gentleman that consular support from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is available to all those people.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

I was lucky enough to be part of the 25,000-strong sea of red in Bordeaux at the weekend who witnessed Wales’s victory over Slovakia, which leaves us top of the group—[Interruption]—ahead of England. However, there is genuine concern about what those Welsh fans may face during the two group games before the next stage: the games against England and Russia. The Home Secretary is, after all, Home Secretary for both England and Wales, so what assurances can she give about what she is doing, in conjunction with other authorities, to ensure that those Welsh fans—who, it must be said, behaved impeccably in Bordeaux—are protected during the next two games?

[Mrs May]

You will have noticed, Mr Speaker, that I am trying to avoid commenting on any results of matches that have taken place.

I can tell the hon. Gentleman that we are paying attention to the policing of all the matches that involve home nations. Police from Wales, England and Northern Ireland are in France, and Assistant Chief Constable Roberts is working with all the police and the French authorities on behalf of every home nation.