Jagtar Singh Johal

Debate between Rehman Chishti and David Davis

Wednesday 7th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rehman Chishti]

I will take questions later, subject to what you say, Madam Deputy Speaker. The point I am trying to make, to bring the House together, is that this case has been raised with our counterparts at the highest level possible, and we will continue to do all we can to support Mr Johal in this particular case.

[Mr David Davis (Haltemprice and Howden) (Con)]

I associate myself with every word uttered by the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (Martin Docherty-Hughes). Let us be clear: we cannot talk about the case, but the allegation is clear. The allegation is that the British Government were complicit in the provision of information to the Indian Government knowing that it might be used for torture and in a capital case. The point is that this is not the first time that this has happened; it has happened on numerous occasions. When my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) was Prime Minister, she apologised for the most famous previous case in Libya. She said:

“We are profoundly sorry for the ordeal that you both suffered and our role in it.”

That was within a few months of Mr Johal’s arrest and the Government’s potential involvement.

There is not only one civil case looking at this issue; there is another case in my name and that of the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis) to demand that the Government review, as promised, their attitude to torture and their complicity and involvement in it. I ask the Minister whether he will give an undertaking that we will now have that review to cover the Johal case and all the others that went before it, and whether he will promise this House that we will never again be complicit in the torture of any British citizen.

[Rehman Chishti]

My right hon. Friend’s first point was that there are allegations in this case. Absolutely: there are allegations and there is a procedure and process that they must go through to be looked at. They are going through the High Court at this time. On that basis, I will not be drawn into commenting on that. He, and every other Member of Parliament, will recognise that if there is an allegation, it has to go through a process. Therefore, there is a separation of power between the Executive, the judiciary and the legislature. That specific matter is now at the High Court, and the High Court should make a determination on it.