Counter-Terrorism: Conflict Zones

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nia Griffith

Monday 2nd March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend is right. It is important that we make very clear the dangers and the horrors of what can happen when people go to such countries. Even if people are going to Syria with the best of humanitarian intentions, they can find themselves caught up in horrific situations, including with terrorist groups. That message is important. We have consistently been saying to people that they should not be travelling to Syria and Iraq. If they wish to help and support the people of Syria who have been displaced by the actions of the regime in Syria, there are better ways of doing it. That is a message that we will continue to put out.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

Returning to the point first made by the hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) that some of these sick individuals revel in and feel rewarded by high-profile media, does the Home Secretary agree that when young girls like those choose to travel, apart from instances where their identity is needed, perhaps for the public to apprehend them on their route, it would be far better if the media were to report the facts in a more anonymised form, rather than naming those individuals and showing pictures of them time and again?

[Mrs May]

The hon. Lady makes an important point. A free press is obviously part of what underpins our democracy, but I would expect the media to be responsible in the way in which they deal with such issues in a number of ways. She mentioned the young girls travelling and whether their names should have been revealed. I say to the media that these are important issues. The families in that case are under considerable stress and trauma, suffering as a result of their daughters having gone to Syria, and I expect the media to respect that.

Wanless Review

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nia Griffith

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I will not comment on the individual case that the hon. Gentleman has raised. I am very clear, and it is very clear in the request that I will put to the Cabinet Secretary, that Government Departments and agencies—all aspects of Government—should be working to help the inquiry to get to the truth and to ensure, in doing so, that any evidence is available to it. The Crown Prosecution Service is an independent body in relation to decisions that it takes about prosecutions. Certainly, the message we will be sending from the Government is that in matters relating to the inquiry we want Government Departments to come forward with the information they have to ensure that we can get at the truth.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

I very much welcome the approach that the Home Secretary is taking, and I understand why she wants to be absolutely sure that the systems that are in place are going to work. Will she confirm that the recommendation that a record is made of what happens to something that is passed to the police will be put in place as soon as possible, without waiting for the full inquiry?

[Mrs May]

Yes. That recommendation from the Wanless and Whittam review is separate from the work of the inquiry panel. The permanent secretary has accepted those recommendations and is ensuring that they are acted on and put in place.

Child Abuse Inquiry

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nia Griffith

Monday 3rd November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

We are keen to ensure that we get the technology in place as soon as possible so that the inquiry panel can take evidence remotely, for those who wish to do so. I am sure my hon. Friend will recognise, though, that we need to ensure the security of that process. When the matters being dealt with are as personal as they will be for survivors, it is right that we get the technology in place and ensure that it is secure.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

The Home Secretary has stressed the importance of current protection for children. In the appalling case of the deputy head teacher from Cardiff in Wales who was jailed in May this year for having secretly filmed children in toilets, it turns out that the National Crime Agency did not pass on details about this man to the South Wales police for a whole 19 months. The NCA has information about 20,000 individuals who have accessed child abuse on the internet and only 700 of those have been prosecuted. What will she do to ensure that progress is made in dealing with the issue so that children can be better protected?

[Mrs May]

From the timeline that the hon. Lady set out, the information that she refers to would initially have been with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre before the National Crime Agency was established. The National Crime Agency has been clear about the number of people it has identified who have been looking at child abuse images. Under the National Crime Agency more people who are looking at child abuse images are having action taken against them. In the past year more than 1,000 people have had action taken against them, and Operation Notarise has led to the investigation of over 700 individuals. So the National Crime Agency is working. It is ensuring that every case that comes to it is looked at and considered, and that appropriate action is taken. It prioritises those that are of the greatest potential harm to children.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nia Griffith

Monday 13th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

It was absolutely right to introduce police and crime commissioners. They have introduced a degree of local accountability to local policing that was not there when the police authorities were in place. I understand that the hon. Gentleman’s party thinks that at local borough command level, police borough commanders should be jointly appointed by the local council and the chief constable. That would be a wrong move; it would mean the politicisation of the police, and I suggest that his party think again.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

2. What progress her Department has made on setting up its recently announced inquiries into child abuse; and if she will make a statement.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

12. What progress her Department has made on setting up its recently announced inquiries into child abuse; and if she will make a statement.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

On 5 September I announced Fiona Woolf as the chair of the inquiry. Ben Emmerson QC was announced as counsel to the inquiry, and Graham Wilmer and Barbara Hearn were announced as panel members. The remaining panel members and terms of reference will be announced shortly. It is important that we get this right to ensure that the inquiry is able to challenge individuals and institutions, get to the bottom of these abhorrent crimes, and ensure that they do not happen again.

[Nia Griffith]

The number of people barred from working with children has fallen from 11,000 in 2011 to 2,660 in 2013, which means that people convicted of serious offences against children are no longer automatically barred from working with children. Will the Home Secretary consider whether the inquiry will examine that issue, together with current child protection practices?

Communications Data and Interception

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nia Griffith

Thursday 10th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend for his remarks of support for this legislation and for the useful historical precedent that he has brought to my attention, which I might quote in future.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

The Home Secretary has quite rightly mentioned close co-operation with Europe and has mentioned countries such as Denmark and Ireland where no action is needed. Will she elaborate on what action she will be taking to ensure that when action is needed by countries, it is taken so that no EU state is left as a safe haven for communications by criminals, which, in this day and age, could easily be used by anyone?

[Mrs May]

I do, of course, talk about these issues with my opposite numbers in the EU member states. I have been talking with them about how they will address the issue, and I will continue to do so. We want to ensure that we have the maximum ability to deal with terrorists and criminals and that we do not leave any safe haven available for them.

Extremism

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nia Griffith

Monday 9th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

The Home Secretary seems to be using the word “immediately” instead of the words “after three days”. No wonder my constituents are panicking about getting their passports on time. Can she explain why she allowed her letter to remain on the website for three days? Did she not know about it? Was it with her authorisation? Has she any sense that three days is far too long in relation to something that was supposed to have been removed immediately?

[Mrs May]

I have answered that question on a number of occasions. I did make reference to immediate action that was taken. I made reference to that in response to the shadow Home Secretary. The Prime Minister initiated an investigation by the Cabinet Secretary, and that investigation was concluded at the end of last week.

Treaty on the Functioning of the EU

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nia Griffith

Tuesday 9th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I apologise; I referred to this in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Stone. The reason for coming forward now is that we are able to start formal negotiation with the European Commission and other member states on those measures we seek to rejoin. Had we not been doing that, we would have significantly reduced our ability in time terms to hold those negotiations with the European Commission.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

My constituents are particularly concerned about the 90% of prisoners repatriated from the UK under the European arrest warrant who are foreign nationals. Will the Secretary of State make a categorical assurance that under the arrangements she proposes there will be no delay in repatriating those foreign nationals from our prisons? We understand there have been considerable delays recently, and that numbers of those going have not been as good as they should have been.

[Mrs May]

The hon. Lady refers in general to the question of foreign national prisoners and their removal from the UK. Of course, that covers those who are EU citizens and those who are from outside the EU. With regard to EU citizens, the prisoner transfer framework decision gives us the opportunity to work with other member states on a bilateral basis to ensure that we can repatriate UK citizens to serve their sentences here and remove their nationals from the UK to serve their sentences abroad. That is what we intend to do.

Family Migration

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nia Griffith

Monday 11th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point. We are giving some allowance within the rules—with qualifications—for individuals’ savings, but we do not think that it is appropriate to include money that somebody just says they can give to the sponsor. The measures are about the sponsor showing that they can support the spousal partner and/or children that they are bringing into the UK.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

Many in my constituency working in both the public and the private sector bring up a family on less than the proposed threshold. What equality impact assessment has the Secretary of State carried out on whether the threshold will have a disproportionate effect on groups such as younger people, British women who want to bring in a foreign husband, or those living in less prosperous regions?

[Mrs May]

The hon. Lady echoes an earlier question about impact assessments. As I said, all the impact assessments will be published when the immigration rules are laid.

UK Border Force

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nia Griffith

Monday 7th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I can assure my hon. Friend that the internal inquiry has been ongoing since the first information on the matter was available on Thursday and is continuing. I expect it to be a relatively quick inquiry. The inquiry by the chief inspector is starting today, and I saw him and one of his assistant chief inspectors this morning. They have already started the necessary work for conducting the field work at various ports around the country and will have the full powers available to the chief inspector in normal circumstances.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

We have been rather disappointed by the Home Secretary’s answers on Manchester and Belfast airports and the number of people coming into the country. Will she make available to us as soon as possible all the details about the ports and airports involved, the times they were involved and the number of people who came in, rather than waiting until January for an inquiry? She should make it her business to find these things out.

[Mrs May]

I have already indicated that I will make available information about which ports were included.

Metropolitan Police Service

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nia Griffith

Monday 18th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I have made my position on Sir Paul Stephenson’s resignation absolutely clear. In his time in office at the Metropolitan police he has strengthened the force operationally, and under his leadership it has been effective and done excellent work in cutting crime and protecting the public.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

Given that the Mayor of London actively discouraged the reopening of the police inquiry by referring to the phone-hacking allegations as “codswallop” and a Labour plot, what inquiries will the Home Secretary make into what advice the Mayor took before making those views known and using his influence in that way?

[Mrs May]

The advice that the Mayor takes is a matter for him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nia Griffith

Thursday 22nd July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I recognise that the hon. Lady has had a long-standing interest in the issue, and has fought and campaigned hard on it for some time. As she will know, her Government introduced a new offence of paying for sex with somebody who had been exploited or forced into that position, which is intended to deter men from paying for sex with those who have been exploited, a category into which those who have been trafficked would obviously fall. We are currently waiting to see how that offence plays out, in terms of its impact.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

2. Whether an equality impact assessment has been undertaken on the proposals in the June 2010 Budget.

[Rachel Reeves (Leeds West) (Lab)]

5. What assessment the Government Equalities Office has undertaken of the relative effects of the June 2010 Budget on men and on women.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities (Mrs Theresa May)]

We have had to take tough decisions to reduce the deficit and secure the economic recovery essential to maintaining the living standards of women and families in this country in the longer term. The June Budget does that fairly, with a focus on protecting the most vulnerable in society, including low-income families. Assessing policy options in the light of tough financial constraints is not a one-off but an ongoing process. My officials are working with and talking to Departments about how to take account of equality considerations as they develop and implement the policies that will achieve budget reductions—budget reductions made necessary, I would remind the hon. Member for Llanelli (Nia Griffith), by Labour’s mismanagement of the economy.

[Nia Griffith]

I find that answer quite surprising, given that three quarters of the burden of the emergency Budget introduced by the right hon. Lady’s Government will fall on women. Will she explain in detail what assessment she has made of the impact of the Budget, and what representations she has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to mitigate its effects?

[Mrs May]

I think that the hon. Lady is referring to some research that the right hon. Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) has undertaken. That research is partial in its assessment, because it fails to take into account a whole host of issues in the Budget, including the council tax freeze. The hon. Lady should also recognise the steps that we took in the Budget to protect people on low incomes. They include the exemption from the public sector workers’ freeze—lower-paid public sector workers are predominantly women, and they will be exempt from that pay freeze. We are also working to freeze the basic rate of income tax, to increase the personal allowance, and to remove 880,000 people from income tax altogether, the majority of whom will be women. We are very conscious of the need to look at the impact of the Budget, but I suggest that the hon. Lady needs to look at the good things in it that will help people on low incomes.