Tag: Emily Thornberry

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with which countries the UK has asset sharing agreements for the purposes of freezing, confiscating and repatriating the proceeds of crime; and how many such agreements have been reached since 2010-11.

    Karen Bradley

    he UK is party to a number of multilateral international agreements that
    contain asset recovery and asset sharing provisions. These include the Council
    of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the
    Proceeds from Crime, the UN Convention Against Corruption and the UN Convention
    Against Transnational Organised Crime. The UK does not require a formal
    international agreement to be able to cooperate with another country in respect
    of freezing, confiscating and sharing or repatriating the proceeds of crime but
    does have 37 bilateral mutual legal assistance agreements with other countries
    including such provisions. These are –

    1. Algeria
    2. Antigua and Barbuda
    3. Argentina
    4. Australia
    5. Bahamas
    6. Bahrain
    7. Barbados
    8. Brazil
    9. Canada
    10. Chile
    11. Colombia
    12. Ecuador
    13. Grenada
    14. Guyana
    15. Hong Kong SAR
    16. India
    17. Ireland
    18. Italy
    19. Jordan
    20. Libya
    21. Malaysia
    22. Mexico
    23. Netherlands
    24. Nigeria
    25. Panama
    26. Paraguay
    27. Philippines
    28. Romania
    29. Saudi Arabia
    30. Spain
    31. Sweden
    32. Thailand
    33. UAE
    34. Ukraine
    35. Uruguay
    36. USA
    37. Vietnam

    The agreements with Jordan and Malaysia have been concluded since 2010.

    There are a further six bilateral agreements limited to the issue of asset
    sharing. These are –

    1. Canada
    2. Jersey
    3. Hong Kong SAR
    4. Ireland
    5. Jamaica
    6. Netherlands

    These were all concluded prior to 2010.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many investigations of allegations of (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) domestic violence where the alleged offending took place in the UK were investigated by the Royal Military Police in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

    Anna Soubry

    The table below shows the number of recorded investigations by the Royal Military Police for rape, sexual assault and domestic violence where the alleged offending took place in the UK in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012.

    Year Rape Sexual Assault
    2010 ~ 25
    2011 5 20
    2012 5 15

    The figures have been rounded to the nearest five. The figure “~” represents a sample of less than five. The specific figure has not been disclosed to ensure that the alleged victim(s) cannot be identified. This is in line with the Sexual Offences (Amendments) Act 1976 and 1992.

    Because of the way domestic violence statistics are recorded it is taking some time to collate the information. I will write to the hon. Member with an answer shortly.

    The Royal Military Police is the Army’s police force and together with its Royal Navy and Royal Air Force counterparts, are collectively known as the Service Police. Under Home Office Circular 028/2008, which defines investigative jurisdiction in the UK, primacy generally rests with the civilian police, although the Service Police may take the lead in an investigation if both the suspect and the victim in a particular case are serving members of the Armed Forces.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many cases of alleged (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) domestic violence where the alleged offending took place in the UK were referred to the Services Prosecuting Authority for a charging decision in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

    Anna Soubry

    The information requested is shown in the tables below:

    Referrals to the Service Prosecuting Authority 2010 2011 2012
    Rape (Including attempted rape) 1 6 9
    Sexual Assault 25 30 12
    Domestic Violence 8 7 5

    Prosecutions (directions) by the Service Prosecuting Authority

    2010 2011 2012
    Rape (Including attempted rape) 1 3 2
    Sexual Assault 13 15 9
    Domestic Violence 2 4 4

    In any given year the Service Prosecuting Authority will receive referrals which are then directed, disposed of, or tried in the following year, meaning there is no direct correlation between the numbers of cases referred and directed in any one year.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many cases of alleged (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) domestic violence where the alleged offending took place in the UK were prosecuted by the Services Prosecuting Authority in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

    Anna Soubry

    The information requested is shown in the tables below:

    Referrals to the Service Prosecuting Authority 2010 2011 2012
    Rape (Including attempted rape) 1 6 9
    Sexual Assault 25 30 12
    Domestic Violence 8 7 5

    Prosecutions (directions) by the Service Prosecuting Authority

    2010 2011 2012
    Rape (Including attempted rape) 1 3 2
    Sexual Assault 13 15 9
    Domestic Violence 2 4 4

    In any given year the Service Prosecuting Authority will receive referrals which are then directed, disposed of, or tried in the following year, meaning there is no direct correlation between the numbers of cases referred and directed in any one year.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, what recent amendments have been made to Crown Prosecution Service guidance on (a) when to disclose the defence medical records and counselling notes of victims and (b) what action to take if victims do not consent to disclosure.

    Oliver Heald

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revised its Rape and Sexual Offence legal guidance in relation to disclosure of medical records and counselling notes on 12 December 2013. The revised guidance included guidance on both a) when to disclose to the defence medical records and counselling notes of victims and (b) what action to take if victims do not consent to disclosure. The revised legal guidance is published on the CPS website at: http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/p_to_r/rape_and_sexual_offences/disclosure_and_third_party_material/

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will make it his policy to introduce the option of anonymity for victims of female genital mutilation in court trials.

    Oliver Heald

    The Crown Prosecution Service recognises that more needs to be done to encourage victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) to come forward. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has said that the introduction of anonymity for victims of FGM should be considered to encourage more victims to come forward as, given the very personal nature of the offence, very few do so. However, any change of law on anonymity is a matter for the Ministry of Justice.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will deposit in the Library data gathered by Crown Prosecution Service Business Area of prosecutions and convictions for (a) rape-flagged offences, (b) domestic violence, (c) child abuse and (d) human trafficking for each year since 2008.

    Oliver Heald

    The requested data has been deposited in the Library of the House together with explanatory notes.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Attorney General, when the next inspection of the Services Prosecuting Authority is planned by HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

    Oliver Heald

    There are currently no plans for HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate to carry out an inspection of the Service Prosecution Authority

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the Answer of 6 May 2014, Official Report, column 8W, on freezing orders, for each of the restraint orders granted since 2010-11, what the length of time was between receipt by the prosecution agency of the freezing request and the granting of the order.

    Oliver Heald

    Since 2010-11 the Serious Fraud Office has obtained two restraint orders for overseas jurisdictions. The length of time from date of receipt of the requests to the granting of the orders, are shown in the following table;

    Year

    Time

    2010

    3 days

    2011

    7 days

    The length of time between receipt of freezing requests by the Crown prosecution Service and the granting of the order is shown in the table below. There were two cases (one in 2010/11 and one in 2012/13) which took a significant amount of time to execute as detailed work needed to be done with the requesting country in order to prepare the applications for restraint orders.

    Year

    Number of overseas restraint orders

    Number of days from the receipt of the external request to the granting of the order

    2010/11

    7

    Request 1 – 22

    Request 2 – 96

    Request 3 – 9

    Request 4 – 17

    Request 5 – 17

    Request 6 – 95

    Request 7 – 645

    2011/12

    2

    Request 1 – 1

    Request 2 – 26

    2012/13

    6

    Request 1 – 27

    Request 2 – 39

    Request 3 – 438

    Request 4 – 34

    Request 5 – 28

    Request 6 – 11

    2013/14

    3

    Request 1 – 16

    Request 2 – 1

    Request 3 – 35

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many assets of criminal origin have been repatriated from the UK to jurisdictions overseas in each year since 2008-09.

    Karen Bradley

    The Serious and Organised Crime Strategy sets out how the Government intends to
    improve the tackling of criminal finances both in the UK and overseas. This
    includes developing asset sharing agreements with other countries in order to
    improve international co-operation on asset recovery. Although no assets have
    been repatriated to another country since 2008-09, there are a number of ongoing
    investigations, particularly as part of the Arab Spring Asset Recovery
    Taskforce, about which it is not possible to comment further at this stage.