The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-06-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Office of the Attorney General has any records of royal pardons granted between 1987 and 1997.
Lord Wallace of Tankerness
The Attorney General has no formal role in the issue of Royal Pardons and therefore there are no records of Royal Pardons held by the Attorney General’s Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-06-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the reported loss of records of royal pardons granted between 1987 and 1997 applies to the whole of the United Kingdom.
Lord Faulks
The exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy may currently take one of three forms:
i) The grant of a Free Pardon;
ii) The grant of a conditional Pardon;
iii) Remission of all or part of a penalty
By Constitutional convention, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (in succession to the Home Secretary) is responsible, in England and Wales (and the Channel Islands), for recommending to Her Majesty the exercise of the prerogative of mercy to grant a Royal Pardon. In Northern Ireland the responsibility lies with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for reserved matters and the Justice Minister for Northern Ireland for devolved matters. In Scotland it is devolved to the First Minister. The Secretary of State for Defence also has the responsibility in relation to members of the armed forces.
Each department or administration is responsible for maintaining their records. I am not aware of any problems with retrieving such records for this period relating to royal pardons granted on the recommendation of the Secretary of State for Justice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-03-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to recognise passports issued by Russia to residents of Crimea following the annexation of that territory from Ukraine as valid travel documents.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
The Government is clear that the UK does not recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea which we view as illegal.
Some residents of Crimea already hold Russian nationality, and were in possession of a valid Russian passport before Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. Subject to any travel ban imposed upon an individual, the UK will continue to recognise any legitimate holder of a Russian passport with a valid UK visa or entry clearance as eligible to travel and seek entry to the UK.
In terms of UK visa applications, those applying for visitor visas can apply at any location. Applications for visas in other categories should, in line with paragraph 28 of the Immigration rules, be made in the country or territory in which they are living. Therefore, Russian passport holders living in Crimea would be able to apply for a visit visa anywhere in the world, including Russia; but any non-visit applications would need to be made in Ukraine.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-06-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have sought assistance from the Royal Household in recovering records of royal pardons granted between 1987 and 1997.
Baroness Randerson
The review of Departmental record keeping ordered by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is ongoing.
Northern Ireland Office officials continue to seek information on use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) for the years 1987 to 1997. This includes contact with the Royal Household to ascertain whether they hold any relevant information.