Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is Government policy that UK citizens who are suspected of committing criminal offences while fighting abroad will be dealt with by UK courts.

Where there is evidence that crimes have been committed, foreign fighters should be brought to justice in accordance with due legal process. The UK takes extra-territorial jurisdiction for most terrorism offences, so that we are able to prosecute people in the UK for terrorism activity undertaken overseas if this is appropriate.

There are also other criminal offences, including murder, for which the UK takes extra-territorial jurisdiction. Criminal investigations and decisions to prosecute depend on the circumstances of each individual case and are a matter for the police and CPS.

There will be occasions where evidence against suspects means that the most appropriate jurisdiction to prosecute is not the UK in which case UK law enforcement will assist when required, subject to a range of safeguards.