Jagtar Singh Johal Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Khalid Mahmood
Main Page: Khalid Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Perry Barr)Department Debates - View all Khalid Mahmood's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(2 years, 2 months ago)
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Rehman Chishti
The hon. Lady is correct to say that the former Prime Minister made a determination on arbitrary detention, and the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention has issued its opinion about Mr Johal. That is the point—the new Foreign Secretary and new Prime Minister will have to make a determination for themselves on this matter. The hon. Lady asked about the former Prime Minister, and that was his opinion. The new Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary will need to come to their own opinion on this matter.
Mr Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham, Perry Barr) (Lab)
I welcome the Minister to his place. The crux of the matter is that whether or not this issue is before a civil court is the prerogative of the Government. They can pull that and deal with the real issues and concerns of the family of somebody who has been tortured in an Indian prison since 2017. We want the Minister to do what we would expect for a British citizen, and for the Government to deal with the issue and bring Mr Johal back home to his family.
Rehman Chishti
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that we should do everything we can to support Mr Johal and his family. That is why there have been nearly 100 forms of communication between officials and Ministers and their Indian counterparts about Mr Johal’s case. It is a top priority for us, and we will do all we can to support him and his family.