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10.37 pm
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Derek Fatchett): I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) for bringing this matter to the attention of the House. The case of James Miles and Paul Loseby involves drug-related issues. I should like to take the opportunity to state at the outset in the strongest possible terms that the Government are fully committed to the fight against drugs, and will do all they can to stamp out the evil of international drug trafficking. We will co-operate with any country that shares that commitment.
I very much welcome my hon. Friend's comments on that point. He was right to talk about the evil of drugs and the way in which drugs have damaged, indeed ruined, the lives of so many young people. Both of us will know from our constituencies the way in which drugs operate as a social evil.
I also welcome this opportunity to record the actions of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in this case. I shall first outline our knowledge of the case to date and refer to the help that we have provided for Mr. Miles, Mr. Loseby and their families. I should also put it on record that we respect my hon. Friend's strong commitment to his constituents. His support will mean a great deal to the families concerned.
The facts are as follows. James Miles and Paul Loseby were arrested at Caracas airport on 4 November last year as they were about to board a flight. They were found to have 10 kg of cocaine strapped around their waists. They claimed that a man with whom they had been socialising had threatened to shoot them if they refused to carry the cocaine. Mr. Miles and Mr. Loseby were subsequently charged with drug trafficking. They were found guilty of possession of drugs, and they have been sentenced to four years' imprisonment.
The British embassy in Caracas was told on 6 November by the Venezuelan police about the arrest of two--I stress unnamed--British citizens. Consular staff sought immediate access, which was granted on the afternoon of 7 November.
The consular division of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office contacts families of British nationals who are detained overseas as soon as they have enough information to enable them to do so. In this case
the Venezuelan authorities allowed local television and press access to the young men before the consular visit took place. That, as my hon. Friend said, was deplorable. As a result, stories of their arrest appeared before the consular division was aware of the full facts. This pre-empted a call to the families from consular staff in London.
The press stories created confusion, because mistakes were made in reporting the names and ages of the detainees. A consular officer in Caracas established the real identities of Mr. Miles and Mr. Loseby during the visit on 7 November. The House might be interested to know that Mr. Loseby was travelling on a passport in the name of Paul Richard Clark, which added to the consular confusion.
Consular staff cannot guarantee that they will always be able to alert families of detainees before the stories hit the newspapers. Sometimes the detainees do not want the Foreign Office, or in some cases even their families, to be informed. For reasons of consular privacy, we cannot inform families unless we have been spoken to and obtained permission of the detainee.
What is the role of our consular services? The job of our consular staff in Venezuela is to ensure that Mr. Miles and Mr. Loseby have access to a lawyer; that they know their legal position and have information about the legal and prison system; that they receive the same level of treatment as other prisoners and are not discriminated against in any way; and that any medical problems are dealt with quickly. Any complaint of ill treatment is taken up, and will be taken up, vigorously with the police or prison authorities.
Our staff can, and will, pass messages and money for prison comforts from their families. The welfare of British prisoners is a high priority for the Government. We are acutely aware that the needs of their families are important, too. We help them as far as possible to keep in regular contact with the prisoners.
It is important to stress that our role is essentially humanitarian. We do not provide legal advice. It is for the Venezuelan courts to decide whether Mr. Miles and Mr. Loseby are guilty of drug trafficking. Mr. Miles and Mr. Loseby have been encouraged to take legal advice to help them with their defence and to guide them through their trial. We now, of course, know the result of that process.
So much for our actions in Venezuela. At home, as my hon. Friend will know, the families of Mr. Miles and Mr. Loseby called on our consular division in London in November 1996. They spoke at length with the officials responsible for the welfare of Mr. Miles and Mr. Loseby, and, together with my hon. Friend, met the head of consular division, who explained fully the role of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
I am pleased to say that Mr. Miles's father visited his son and Mr. Loseby at La Vega in November 1996. Consular staff in Caracas helped him by meeting him at the airport, arranging his accommodation, providing transport to La Veda, and gaining him extra access to the prisoners. Consular staff in London helped to secure a grant for Mr. Loseby from the Royal British Legion for possible medical expenses.
My hon. Friend made strong reference to the legal proceedings. Mr. Miles and Mr. Loseby initially employed a lawyer, who had been selected and paid for
by Mr. Miles's father. They were unhappy with the progress the lawyer was making, and chose a different one, who was officially assigned to their case by the court in April. This change of lawyer caused further delay in the already lengthy legal proceedings. But Mr. Miles, Mr. Loseby and their families did not ask the British embassy or the consular division to apply pressure to expedite the proceedings.
Mr. Vaz:
I am astonished to hear that, because Mr. Miles and his wife and Mr. and Mrs. Loseby have been in constant contact with the Foreign Office to try to ensure that the case is progressed. I have brought this matter to the attention of the House because of that pressure.
My hon. Friend mentioned the legal proceedings. He and his colleagues, including the Foreign Secretary, have made an outstanding start in the Foreign Office. One of the great principles of the new Administration is that morality should underlie Britain's foreign policy. Does the Minister believe that it is morally or legally right for defendants to be sentenced in a foreign country that is an ally of Britain after a trial at which they were not present? Is that a proper way for the legal system to operate?
Mr. Fatchett:
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments on the new Labour Government's foreign policy. They will be well received by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary: he will be delighted to know that we are gaining support from my hon. Friend and in many other places.
My hon. Friend referred to prison conditions in Venezuela, and perhaps I could comment on that.
Mr. Vaz:
My hon. Friend has charmingly taken the compliments, but has not answered my question. My concern is not about prison conditions in Venezuela, but about the fact that my constituents, who are British citizens, have been sentenced without attending a trial. How can it be right for the Government to allow a friendly country to sentence our citizens when they were not even present at their trial?
Mr. Fatchett:
I shall deal with that point. If my hon. Friend waits a moment, he will get the answer to his question.
I accept what my hon. Friend said about prison conditions in Venezuela, which are extremely difficult. They fall some way short of what we consider acceptable. We have complained about this to the Venezuelan authorities, and, together with our European Union partners, have pressed for improvements in prison conditions. Mr. Miles and Mr. Loseby believe that the La Vega police cells, where they are currently held, provide a safer and more comfortable environment than any of the Venezuelan prisons.
Under Venezuelan law, the young men should have been sent to a prison within eight days of their arrival in La Vega. However, our ambassador in Caracas persuaded the Venezuelan authorities, on behalf of the two accused persons, that they should be kept in La Vega until a verdict was reached. The time that they have spent in La Vega will count towards their sentence, which was recently announced.
Our embassy in Caracas has remained in regular and almost daily contact with Mr. Lyon, Mr. Miles and Mr. Loseby's current lawyer. Our ambassador undertook to provide consular staff in Venezuela with reports of developments in the case. On 5 May, he anticipated that a verdict might be reached in a matter of months, but he stressed that that was only an estimate, and we now know that events have moved on.
I shall deal with the two important issues to which my hon. Friend referred. The embassy contacted the court, and the court has confirmed that both men were found not guilty of trafficking in drugs, but guilty of possession. They have been sentenced to four years in prison. Venezuelan law allows for a sentence of four to six years. We immediately advised Mrs. Miles, and left messages with my hon. Friend's paging service.
Mr. Fatchett:
That is when we received the information. We have been unable to contact Mr. and Mrs. Loseby: we have been told that they are on holiday.
My hon. Friend referred to due process. We would be unhappy if due process in Venezuela was not being followed in the way that we consider to conform to universal standards, and we have made that point.
My hon. Friend spoke of the need to establish whether it was possible for the two convicted citizens to be returned to the United Kingdom. As he knows, we have pressed the Venezuelan Government to join the Council of Europe convention for the transfer of convicted persons, and we will continue to press the point. We hope that the Venezuelans will listen to our argument, and that it will then be possible for the two to return to the United Kingdom to finish their sentences.
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