Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her department holds an estimate of the number of criminals in the UK that arrived in the country by irregular means.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information you have requested regarding the number of foreign criminals in the UK who arrived by irregular means is not available from published statistics.
However, foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation.
The latest published information shows that in the year-ending October 2025, 5,430 foreign national offenders (FNOs) were returned, which is an increase of 12% compared to the number of FNO returns in the same period 12 months prior.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign nationals have been removed from the UK in each of the last five years for involvement in, incitement of, or support for extremist Islamist ideology.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, whether the Serious Fraud Office plans to update (a) operational guidance and (b) case selection criteria for foreign bribery cases.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The SFO’s operational guidance and processes are kept under constant review to ensure they continue to meet operational needs. The SFO’s case selection criteria are established in the Director’s Statement of Principle and ensure that the SFO meets its statutory obligations to investigate and prosecute serious or complex fraud, bribery and corruption.
The Law Officers have supervisory oversight of the SFO’s work and regularly assess their operational performance. The SFO’s work is also independently reviewed by the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate to ensure that they are following good practice.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to promote public awareness of the foreign bribery indicators published by the Serious Fraud Office and Five Eyes partners, and to encourage reporting of suspected bribery.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
I regularly report on the work of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) publicly and in Parliament. This includes highlighting new guidance and casework updates published by the SFO and encouraging reporting of crime, including bribery.
The SFO promotes cooperation from business, including the benefits of self-reporting, and the Director and his senior team speak directly to businesses. The SFO routinely engages with the media to promote the SFO’s work and raise awareness of new publications, including the International Foreign Bribery Taskforce’s indicators of foreign bribery.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with international counterparts on the extent of the tunnel network in Gaza used by Hamas; and what support she is providing to help dismantle those tunnels.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is working closely with our international partners to ensure the implementation of the 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council on 17 November 2025, including Points 6, 13, 14 and 17, which relate to the issues raised by the Rt Hon Member.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help secure the disarming of Hamas in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is working closely with our international partners to ensure the implementation of the 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council on 17 November 2025, including Points 6, 13, 14 and 17, which relate to the issues raised by the Rt Hon Member.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support international non-governmental organisations that have been deregistered in Gaza and the West Bank by the Israeli government.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement I made on 5 January.
Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many times have Ministers, officials or Cairo Embassy staff raise the topic of Alaa Abh El-Fattah with the Government of Egypt since 5 July 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Rt Hon Member appears to be under the false impression that the campaign for Mr El-Fattah's release began just six months ago.
In fact, the FCDO first raised Mr El-Fattah's case following his initial conviction in June 2014, a full eleven years before the date mentioned by the Rt Hon Member, and successive governments gave him consular support and made it a priority to argue for his release after he was granted British citizenship in 2021.
If the Rt Hon Member shares the Government's determination to address the information failures exposed by this case, as set out in my statement to the House on 5 January, then it does him no credit to pretend that these same information failures did not also exist under the government in which he served.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the level of payments made by the Palestinian Authority under 'pay for slay' schemes.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 13 November 2025 in response to Question HL11575, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:
In President Abbas' letter to President Macron, dated 9 June 2025, he set out his commitment to the principles of non-violence, the organisation of elections, the development of a school curriculum that is free from incitement, and the implementation of a new social security system, which will revoke so-called prisoner payments, and ensure that any future welfare payments are needs-based and delinked from violent actions. The Palestinian Authority must now ensure that an independent audit is conducted to verify that these reforms have been completed.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has held with her Israeli counterpart on the need for foreign nationals to provide health care services in Gaza from deregistered organisations.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement I made to the House on 5 January.