Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of British citizens who have left the UK to join ISIS and who have (a) returned home and (b) been prevented from returning home.
Answered by Ben Wallace
Approximately 850 UK linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to engage with the Syrian conflict. We estimate that just under half have returned and approximately 15% are now dead. This number includes all those of national security concern, not just those affiliated with Daesh.
Everyone who returns from taking part in the conflict in Syria or Iraq must expect to be investigated by the police to determine if they have committed criminal offences, and to ensure that they do not pose a threat to our national security.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many charges of (a) genocide and (b) war crimes have been brought against British citizens who have returned to the UK having fought for Daesh.
Answered by Alistair Burt
To date, no British Citizens have been charged in the UK with war crimes or genocide in relation to Daesh activities. However a number of convictions have been made in the UK for cases linked to the Syrian conflict and Daesh activities in the region. Furthermore, on 14 August 2017, the Government of Iraq wrote to the UN Secretary General, requesting support to hold Daesh accountable for their crimes. The UK is working with the UN Security Council to deliver this support.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of UK citizens or residents who have fought alongside ISIS; and how many have now returned to the UK.
Answered by Ben Wallace
Approximately 850 UK linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to engage with the Syrian conflict. We estimate that just under half have returned. This number includes all those of national security concern, not just those affiliated with Daesh. Everyone who returns from taking part in the conflict in Syria or Iraq must expect to be investigated by the police to determine if they have committed criminal offences, and to ensure that they do not pose a threat to our national security.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2017 to Question 49107, on Islamic State: British nationals abroad, how many of those people (a) travelled abroad to take part in the Syrian conflict in each year of that conflict and (b) have returned to the UK.
Answered by Ben Wallace
Approximately 850 UK-linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to take part in the Syrian conflict. We estimate that just under half of these have returned and that approximately 15 per cent have been killed. For reasons of national security, we are unable to provide a breakdown of the number of travellers and returners for each year.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether evidence of atrocities committed by individual UK citizens as members of Daesh is being collected; if so, whether this is being done as part of an investigation into sexual violence in the Middle East; and who is collecting this evidence.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are doing everything we can to assist in the gathering and preservation of evidence that could be used in future by judicial bodies to make a judgement on Daesh crimes. We are providing financial support to a specialist organisation to conduct investigations in Syria and build prosecution ready criminal case files against the high level perpetrators, in accordance with international standards. These cases are built for international prosecution should a referral to the International Criminal Court be forthcoming or should individuals be subject to litigation by hybrid, specialised or national courts.
We are also funding a project through our Human Rights and Democracy Programme, aimed at improving the documentation of sexual violence and other gender based cases in a victim sensitive way, in several areas of Iraq. The project is training a team of human rights defenders to document sexual violence and establish a database of cases across a two year period to inform policy development in the government of Iraq.
As a first step in the 'Bringing Daesh to Justice' campaign, we are working with the government of Iraq to bring a proposal before the United Nations on evidence gathering and preservation in Iraq. It is vital that this is done now, before evidence is lost or destroyed.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event that British nationals involved with Islamic State in Iraq or Syria are captured by British forces in those countries, they will be handed over to local authorities.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
British forces in Iraq are operating in a training and advisory capacity only. As such they are not expected to come into contact with British nationals involved with Daesh. In the unlikely event that this was to occur they would revert to the Ministry of Defence who would provide advice on a case by case basis.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has received reports of children of UK nationals being held in Iraq or Syria because their parents or a relative is a member of Daesh.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
There are a number of British minors in Daesh controlled territory, some have travelled of their own accord, whilst others have travelled with their families.
The UK advises against all travel to Syria and parts of Iraq. Anyone who does travel to these areas, for whatever reason, is putting themselves in considerable danger. Those who travel abroad to participate in conflicts may be committing criminal or terrorism offences and could face prosecution on return to the UK.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution of 24 May 2016, Official Report, column 422, on the number of British citizens who have travelled abroad to support Daesh, what progress his Department has made in obtaining that data; and if he will place that data in the Library.
Answered by Michael Fallon
| In my letter to the hon. Member on 6 June, I set out that approximately 850 UK-linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to take part in the Syrian conflict. My understanding from the Home Office is that the position has not changed. | ||||||
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the latest figures of how many British Islamists who have fought in Iraq or Syria for Islamic State (1) are believed still to be in those countries, and (2) have returned to the UK; of those who are known to have returned how many (a) have been prosecuted, (b) have received "de-radicalisation" treatment, and (c) had no action taken against them.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Approximately 850 UK linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to engage with the Syrian conflict. We estimate that just under half have returned and approximately 15% are now dead. This number includes all those of national security concern, not just those affiliated with Daesh.
Data from the Crown Prosecution Service shows that they have successfully prosecuted 10 cases involving 14 defendants who have returned to the UK and are suspected of having fought in Syria and /or Iraq. In compiling this answer, we have learned that the data on this subject which was included in our answer to question HL8065 (11 May 2016) was incorrect, as it included all prosecutions related to Syria and / or Iraq, rather than those related only to people who had returned from Syria or Iraq.
All those who return from engaging in the conflict in Syria and Iraq can expect to be subject to investigation to determine if they have committed criminal offences abroad or represent a threat to our national security. Decisions to prosecute are taken, independently of Government, by the Crown Prosecution Service. Assessments are also made of the appropriateness of other forms of intervention, for example including referral to mental health services or to the Channel programme. For reasons of national security, we do not comment further on action taken with respect to returners from Syria.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in conjunction with UK allies, they plan to increase the level of military activity against British jihadis fighting for ISIL in Iraq and Syria; and whether their objective is to kill such individuals on the battlefield before they return to the UK as potential terrorists.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
UK military action in Syria and Iraq is against Daesh targets, regardless of nationality, as December's Parliamentary motion made clear. As part of the global coalition, the UK is making a substantial air contribution to the campaign to defeat Daesh in both countries and providing training to Iraqi (including Kurdish) security forces taking the fight to Daesh on the ground. The Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) announced in June that we would deploy up to 250 personnel to the Al Asad Air Base in Iraq to increase our training contribution.