PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Offenders: Foreign Nationals (26 March 2019)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UK is not perceived as a safe haven for people suspected of committing international crimes.

Asked by:
Mr Andrew Mitchell (Conservative)

The United Kingdom is committed to holding those who commit the most serious crimes accountable for their actions. It is Government policy that the United Kingdom should not provide a safe haven for war criminals or those responsible for other serious violations of international law. We are committed to ending impunity for such crimes, and encourage action to be taken to bring such individuals to justice wherever possible, within the rule of law and depending on the sufficiency of the available evidence.

The UK is committed to helping other countries to prosecute offences that take place within their territory or within their jurisdiction. Hence, the UK has arrangements to provide mutual legal assistance to other countries and permits the surrender of its own nationals subject to statutory safeguards.

In addition to extradition arrangements with its regular extradition partners, the UK recognises its important international obligations to the international tribunals, as well as under a range of UN Conventions (torture, hijacking etc). The UK stands ready to consider extradition requests from those countries with which it has no extradition arrangements. All requests are considered in accordance with the statutory bars set out in our domestic legal system.

Answered by:
Mr Nick Hurd (Conservative)
3 April 2019