Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any representations to the government of the Republic of Ireland about (1) recognising any historic role it may have had in the forming, funding and training of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and (2) how it may have dealt with terrorist activity during the Troubles.
Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
It is clear that the Irish Government has legitimate questions to answer regarding its record of dealing with legacy matters in its own jurisdiction. The coroner in the Kingsmill Inquest found, “the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland was “exploited by terrorists” and allowed for “… planning, training, organisation, weapons storage and retreat at a safe physical and legal distance from the authorities that would be faced with investigating terrorist acts in Northern Ireland”.
It is clear that, for many families, effective information recovery will also require the cooperation of the Irish Government and its agencies. The Government continues to encourage the Irish Government to cooperate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation & Information Recovery to help facilitate the provision of information to families who request it, including most recently at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference on 29 April 2024.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any representations to the government of the Republic of Ireland concerning the coroner’s findings on the 1976 shooting in Kingsmill.
Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Kingsmill massacre is an appalling example of the pain and suffering inflicted by the Provisional IRA during the Troubles. The families have fought for many decades to get information and accountability from those responsible. The Government hopes that the findings delivered by the coroner have brought some form of comfort to the families affected.
The coroner, in his findings, expressed gratitude for the assistance the inquest received from the Irish authorities. It is the Government’s view, however, that such cooperation should not be limited to high-profile cases. It is disappointing that the Irish Government has, to date, declined to commit to cooperating with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation & Information Recovery to help facilitate the provision of information to families who request it. The Government continues to encourage the Irish Government to cooperate with the ICRIR, just as it has done in the Kingsmill inquest and Operation Denton.
I made these points directly to the Irish Government at the most recent meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference on 29 April.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of the prison workforce had received training to deal with extremist prisoners as of 26 April in each year since 2017.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The method for recording counter terrorism training data has changed over time, so the information requested cannot be provided. Since December 2021, over 17,000 directly employed HMPPS prison staff have been trained in counter terrorism (through the Awareness for Staff on Prevent Extremism and Counter Terrorism Strategy (ASPECTS) programme).
ASPECTS is delivered by counter-terrorist specialists and since 2017, all newly recruited Prison Officers have received ASPECTS training as part of their initial foundation training.
Data as a proportion of the workforce also cannot be provided as records include staff who have since left the prison service and may also include staff who have attended training more than once. The figure also does not include training figures for non-directly employed staff (i.e. those working in private prisons).
The below table shows the number of individuals convicted under Terrorism legislation (TACT), or of other offences considered to have a terrorism connection (TACT-connected), who were being managed by the Probation Service in each year since 2020.
Year | No. under probation supervision. |
2020 | 132 |
2021 | 239 |
2022 | 217 |
2023 | 254 |
2024 | 234 |
Data can only be provided since 2020 as that is when the information began to be recorded centrally.
All high-risk offenders released on licence are managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements, through which police, probation, the prison service and other agencies work together to keep the public safe. Upon release, terrorist offenders are subject to robust risk management, and stringent controls which severely limit their activity. This can include extended periods of electronic monitoring, accommodation in Approved Premises, and polygraph testing.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who had been convicted of offences under the Terrorism Act 2006 and related offences were being monitored by the Probation Service in each year since 2015.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The method for recording counter terrorism training data has changed over time, so the information requested cannot be provided. Since December 2021, over 17,000 directly employed HMPPS prison staff have been trained in counter terrorism (through the Awareness for Staff on Prevent Extremism and Counter Terrorism Strategy (ASPECTS) programme).
ASPECTS is delivered by counter-terrorist specialists and since 2017, all newly recruited Prison Officers have received ASPECTS training as part of their initial foundation training.
Data as a proportion of the workforce also cannot be provided as records include staff who have since left the prison service and may also include staff who have attended training more than once. The figure also does not include training figures for non-directly employed staff (i.e. those working in private prisons).
The below table shows the number of individuals convicted under Terrorism legislation (TACT), or of other offences considered to have a terrorism connection (TACT-connected), who were being managed by the Probation Service in each year since 2020.
Year | No. under probation supervision. |
2020 | 132 |
2021 | 239 |
2022 | 217 |
2023 | 254 |
2024 | 234 |
Data can only be provided since 2020 as that is when the information began to be recorded centrally.
All high-risk offenders released on licence are managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements, through which police, probation, the prison service and other agencies work together to keep the public safe. Upon release, terrorist offenders are subject to robust risk management, and stringent controls which severely limit their activity. This can include extended periods of electronic monitoring, accommodation in Approved Premises, and polygraph testing.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has held recent discussions with his Australian counterpart on the recent stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a church service in Wakeley, Australia.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK government condemns the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, and members of his congregation, during a church service in Australia. The Foreign Secretary has not spoken directly to the Australian Foreign Minister about this attack. However, the UK government is committed to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) globally and collaborates closely with the Australian government on tackling terrorism, including through law enforcement and Home Office channels.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total allocation of funds to the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command in (1) the current, and (2) previous, financial year; and what proportion of those funds in each period was allocated to the War Crimes Unit.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Budget allocations are set by Counter-Terrorism Policing Headquarters, who work with the Home Office and police forces to advise on funding for the counter-terrorism police network, including for specific units. Breakdowns of allocations to police forces or specific units are not provided publicly for national security reasons.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they, together with international partners, have had any discussions with the government of Nigeria, and with the authorities in (1) Burkina Faso, (2) Niger, and (3) Mali, to persuade those three counties to re-join the Economic Community of West African States in the interests of the stability and security of West Africa.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK maintains regular dialogue on regional security with the Nigerian Government and the Transitional Authorities in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. The Deputy Foreign Minister, spoke to ECOWAS Commission President Touray earlier this year after those three states announced their departure from the organisation. The Deputy National Security Adviser also visited Nigeria in February 2024 and discussed the future of the three states' participation in ECOWAS. The UK continues to encourage all actors to maintain regional engagement in the interest of working together to tackle the shared threat of terrorism and promote stability and prosperity for citizens in the region.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he had discussions with his Lebanese counterpart on the efforts of Christian schools in that country to counter Islamic extremism.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending, promoting and strengthening Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and partnering with Lebanon in the shared fight against terrorism. Since 2016, the UK has provided over £6 million in funding to the Tripoli and Beirut-based MARCH, which promotes social cohesion and combats violent extremism, supporting vulnerable youth to become positive actors in their communities. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, and the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, continue to maintain close relationships with religious leaders across Lebanon.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the border between the UK and Republic of Ireland is secure against the passage malign foreign actors.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
We continue a high level of cooperation on border security with Ireland; working closely together to identify and tackle those who seek to abuse arrangements from entering the Common Travel Area.
Schedule 3 to the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 allows a Counter-Terrorism Police Officer to stop, question and, when necessary, detain and search, individuals and goods travelling through UK ports and the “border area” for the purpose of determining whether the person (or the goods) appears to be someone who is, or has been, engaged in hostile activity.
In Northern Ireland, a place is within the “border area” if it is no more than one mile from the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland or it is the first place at which a train travelling from the Republic of Ireland stops to let passengers off.
Individuals who seek to abuse the Common Travel Area arrangements are liable to be detained, and if unlawfully entering the UK, removed.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is to decide on the model for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing supervisory reform.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury’s consultation on reforming the UK’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing supervisory regime closed in September 2023. The Department is continuing to analyse responses with the intention to announce a decision in due course as part of our commitment to reform the current supervision system and reduce economic crime.