Mark Logan
Main Page: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)Department Debates - View all Mark Logan's debates with the Cabinet Office
(8 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Johnny Mercer
I say to the right hon. Gentleman and to all hon. Members who have personal cases to email me as I am happy to take them over. I have been brought in very recently and I will do what I can to get answers in those cases. A lot of cases are not simple—they are not black and white. As everybody across the House knows, I will always be honest about the challenges and we will do everything that we can to look after these people.
Mark Logan (Bolton North East) (Con)
In the interests of impartiality, I will quote from The Guardian, which puts the figure of Afghans currently stranded in UK-funded hotels in Islamabad at 3,000. Indeed, according to reports, those hotels have been raided by Pakistani authorities. What assessment does the Minister make of that figure and of what has been happening? Furthermore, what discussions has he been having with our high commissioner in Pakistan and his opposite number in the Pakistani Government?
Johnny Mercer
This is a cross-Government effort, so people from the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are in contact with the high commissioner in Pakistan every day. We are well aware of this challenge. There are two separate issues here: one is the wider Pakistani policy towards Afghans, which is not part of my work in this space; and the other is that being applied to those who are entitled to be in the UK and have been pre-approved to be in the UK. It is the latter that I am concerned about. We are determined to get assurances on them and we will keep working until we do. I have already made a commitment that if a single one of them is deported back whence they came, I will have failed, but we will make sure that does not happen.