Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her Department will publish comprehensive guidance on all services banned under the sanctions regime against Russia.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
On 4 May, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs announced a ban on the export of accountancy, consultancy and PR services to Russia. The legislation will set out the scope of these services sectors, and statutory guidance will be provided when the legislation comes in to force. We do not speculate about future sanctions.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the ban on UK persons or entities exporting professional services to Russia applies to translation services offered to Russian cultural news outlets.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
On 4 May, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs announced a ban on the export of accountancy, consultancy and PR services to Russia. The legislation will set out the scope of these services sectors, and statutory guidance will be provided when the legislation comes in to force. We do not speculate about future sanctions.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how allegations of torture of UK citizens by another country's police, security services or prison system are taken into account when awarding UK aid to that country; and whether the Government has ever conditioned or reduced UK aid to another country for the purposes of encouraging that country to cease the torture of British citizens.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK Government condemns the use of torture without exception. We take all allegations or concerns of torture and mistreatment of British nationals overseas extremely seriously and will follow up with action appropriate to the circumstances of the case. In considering aid in specific countries a number of different aspects are taken into account, including the commitment to respecting human rights and other international obligations.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the 2011 Guidance for Foreign Office Staff on reporting torture and mistreatment, what guidance is given to consulate staff on how to respond to situations where British nationals abroad are asked to sign forced confessions.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Torture and Mistreatment Reporting Guidance of 2011 sets out the process for FCDO staff and other staff working in Her Majesty's diplomatic missions and offices for reporting information about torture and mistreatment. An independent review of the guidance has not been commissioned since its publication in 2011.
There is internal guidance and training for consular staff on what to do in cases involving allegations of torture by British nationals. Internal FCDO guidance for consular staff is regularly reviewed and updated. This includes guidance related to allegations of torture and mistreatment and allegations of fair trial violations from British nationals overseas.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department's guidelines on how FCDO staff should respond to allegations of torture by British nationals overseas have been revised since the Guidance for FDCO staff on reporting torture and mistreatment was issued in March 2011.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Torture and Mistreatment Reporting Guidance of 2011 sets out the process for FCDO staff and other staff working in Her Majesty's diplomatic missions and offices for reporting information about torture and mistreatment. An independent review of the guidance has not been commissioned since its publication in 2011.
There is internal guidance and training for consular staff on what to do in cases involving allegations of torture by British nationals. Internal FCDO guidance for consular staff is regularly reviewed and updated. This includes guidance related to allegations of torture and mistreatment and allegations of fair trial violations from British nationals overseas.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government takes to help prevent the torture of British citizens abroad.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The FCDO takes all allegations of torture and mistreatment very seriously, and will follow up with action appropriate to the circumstances of the case. The FCDO conducts annual reviews of all open torture and mistreatment cases. These reviews include stakeholders from across the FCDO. These reviews provide feedback to staff managing cases, and identify broader themes and trends in reported torture and mistreatment cases. The reviews and summaries of the findings of those reviews contain sensitive personal data and are not published by the FCDO.
The FCDO also provides foreign travel advice on local laws and customs via the GOV.UK website to inform UK citizens on potential risks before travelling abroad.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to Answer of 19 April to Questions 32460 and 32461, what plans she has to conduct a review of how it could better support British nationals who have reported torture and mistreatment.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The FCDO takes all allegations of torture and mistreatment very seriously, and will follow up with action appropriate to the circumstances of the case. The FCDO conducts annual reviews of all open torture and mistreatment cases. These reviews include stakeholders from across the FCDO. These reviews provide feedback to staff managing cases, and identify broader themes and trends in reported torture and mistreatment cases. The reviews and summaries of the findings of those reviews contain sensitive personal data and are not published by the FCDO.
The FCDO also provides foreign travel advice on local laws and customs via the GOV.UK website to inform UK citizens on potential risks before travelling abroad.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2021 to Question 32462 on Prisoners: Torture, if she will instruct her Department to start collating statistics on (a) the proportion of allegations of torture of British citizens including dual nationals overseas raised with local authorities, (b) whether such allegations raised by her Department resulted in overseas prosecutions of overseas officials, (c) whether allegations would constitute torture or whether they would constitute other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, (d) the number and type of referrals made to the pro-bono medical panel in cases of torture or ill-treatment, (e) the number of British citizens including dual nationals who request the Government to formally espouse their legal claims for damages following allegations of torture or ill-treatment by officials or agents of foreign governments and (f) the number of such claims that have been formally espoused.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The FCDO records all information about allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (mistreatment) reported to us by British nationals, and the action taken in response to those allegations, within individual case files.
The FCDO collates statistics on the number of cases which are included in FCDO Consular Transparency Data published on gov.uk.
Specific support and action is taken with the consent of the individual concerned and will vary according to the specific circumstances and local context.
The FCDO condemns the use of torture and mistreatment and takes all allegations of human rights violations seriously. We call on the responsible authorities to carry out a prompt and impartial investigation into all allegations to determine the facts and circumstances of each case.