Oral Answers to Questions

Paul Masterton Excerpts

Wednesday 15th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am sure the sympathies and thoughts of the whole House are with those injured and stabbed. We are concerned about criminal acts of this sort. As I said earlier in other answers, we have been protecting police budgets and we are now actually seeing a higher percentage of police officers on the frontline.

[Paul Masterton (East Renfrewshire) (Con)]

Q14. In July 2016, a 20-year-old man called Samuel Ciornei arrived in Barrhead from Romania. Three weeks later, in broad daylight, he held a shard of glass to the throat of a 14-year-old schoolgirl, forced her into bushes outside a local supermarket, and raped her. Last week, he was sentenced to nine years in prison. Will the Prime Minister explain what the Government are doing to stop dangerous individuals like Samuel Ciornei entering our country, and can she assure my constituents that Brexit will not result in the weakening or undermining of the security co-operation with our partners in the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend also raises an absolutely appalling and horrific crime. I know that the thoughts of Members across the House are with the victim and her family. I can assure him that in this specific case the Home Office will be pursuing deportation action against the individual. I understand that he met my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and she will be writing to him with further details shortly. He makes a wider point about the continued work, partnership and co-operation we will have with the EU27 once we have left the European Union. I am very clear, as I was in my Florence speech, that we want to maintain that co-operation on security, criminal justice and law enforcement matters. That is important to us all.