Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with international counterparts on permission for incidents of honour-based violence committed against British nationals abroad to be investigated and prosecuted by British authorities.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
There is no 'honour' in so called 'honour-based' violence, and we will not allow political or cultural sensitivities to get in the way of tackling these crimes.
The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for West Reading (Mr Sharma) met political and non-Governmental organisation representatives from the British-Pakistani community on 4-5 January to discuss challenges of looking after the interests of British citizens who spend time and have family ties in Pakistan, including on the subject of forced marriage.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on plans to provide safe access for football supporters at the 2018 World Cup in that country.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) and President Putin discussed security cooperation in the context of the 2018 Russia World Cup during their meeting at the G20 on 4 September.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for supporting British Nationals overseas and wil publish later this year Travel Advice for British supporters planning to attend the 2018 World Cup.
The British Embassy in Moscow has had a number of detailed discussions with the Russian Government about the safety and security of British Nationals during the World Cup and has visited host cities. The UK Football Policing Unit is also working with Russian counterparts to help ensure the safety of travelling football supporters and plan to visit Russia to discuss this further.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the government of India on the death of Seeta Kaur.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Firstly, let me express my deepest sympathies for the family of Seeta Kaur following her tragic death in India in 2015.
So called "honour killings" are abhorrent, and this Government opposes "honour killings". In this case the Indian police were unable to confirm the cause of Seeta's death as murder due to lack of evidence. In January 2016 the Indian police closed their investigation as no further evidence was forthcoming. We informed Ms Kaur's family and the Metropolitan Police of this at the time.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff have provided assistance to Ms Kaur's family, both in India and the UK, and will continue to do so in whatever way they can. However, it is not for the British Government to interfere in the legal processes of another country, just as we would not expect any country to interfere in ours.