Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date his Department began the practice of using Zimbabwean embassy officials to interview Zimbabwean failed asylum seekers; what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the safety of those individuals of engaging with the Zimbabwean Embassy; what discussions he has had with the Zimbabwean diaspora on this practice; and if he will make a statement.

In the second half of 2018, the Government, with officials from the Embassy of Zimbabwe, started co-operating on redocumenting Zimbabwean nationals without a right to remain in the UK, including Foreign National Offenders;

Re-documentation interviews with officials from countries of return are a standard part of Home Office process where an interview is required by the receiving country to enable the confirmation of nationality and identity, in order for a travel document to be produced.

In conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office officials routinely meet with the representatives from the Zimbabwe Diaspora Focus Group (ZDFG). The most recent meeting was in October 2018, at which immigration returns to Zimbabwe was discussed.