Interpol: Russia

Lord Hogan-Howe Excerpts

Monday 9th November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I share something in common with the noble Lord: I am also sanctioned by Russia, which is an interest that I declare. It is a matter for the Russians; they decided to sanction me for the Russia report that I wrote with the Intelligence and Security Committee back in 2019 when I was a Member of the other House. We will always hold Russia to account, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine, for its international transgressions. We will work with Interpol in this context to ensure that there is proper and effective scrutiny of red notices, and that they are not used for persecution or for political purposes.

[Lord Hogan-Howe (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister has concentrated, quite properly, on the governance of Interpol and its responsibilities. However, when a red notice is received in the UK a responsibility is placed on our Government and our police forces. It might help people to be reassured about how that process is managed to ensure that an improper red notice is not acted on to locate, arrest or attempt to extradite to another country.

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

As the noble Lord will know, a red notice is not an extradition agreement; it is a request for information surrounding an individual. There are lots of safeguards in the UK with regard to that information, but in the context of the Question—and this is a perfectly legitimate point that all noble Lords have made in this case—the governance and work on this issue ultimately remains a matter internationally for Interpol.