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14 Mar 2005 : Column 86W—continued
China
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether he has made representations to the Chinese authorities on why people were detained on 7 March by the Chinese authorities; and if he will make a statement; [221317]
(2) what reports he has received on (a) the number and (b) the age of people detained by the Chinese authorities on 7 March in Tiananmen Square; and if he will make a statement. [221451]
Mr. Straw: We are aware of reports that up to 20 people, including some children, were detained after holding a protest on Tiananmen Square on 7 March during the annual session of the National People's Congress.
We regularly raise concerns about freedom of association with the Chinese authorities. We did so most recently during the last round of the UK/China human rights dialogue, held in Beijing on 22 November 2004.
Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he will reply to the letter dated 1 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Sohail Khalid Dar. [221913]
Mr. Mullin: My right hon. Friend will reply shortly.
Departmental Equipment
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many items of Civil Service property within his Department are unaccounted for, broken down by type. [205582]
Mr. Rammell:
I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in replying, and refer him to the reply I gave him on 24 February 2005, Official Report, column 815W.
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Diego Garcia
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what inspections are made by British officials of the passengers on US ships and aircraft making use of Diego Garcia. [221342]
Mr. Rammell: All ships, aircraft and personnel entering or departing Diego Garcia (including its waters) are subject to inspection by British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Imports and Exports Control officers and must present passports and immigration documentation to BIOT Immigration Officers.
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British officials are in permanent residence in Diego Garcia; and what their responsibilities are. [221343]
Mr. Rammell: There are no British officials in permanent residence on Diego Garcia. There are 40 British military personnel stationed on the island, where they usually serve for a period of one year. Their responsibilities are as follows:
One Royal Navy Commander—Commissioners Representative, Magistrate, Principal Immigration Officer, Imports and Exports Control Officer, Coroner, Postmaster
One Royal Marine Major—Deputy Representative (and deputy to all the above) Public Prosecutor, Fisheries Officer
All 40 are military staff and have a military remit in addition to the civilian roles above.
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he receives from British officials on the use made by US forces and officials of facilities on Diego Garcia. [221344]
Mr. Rammell: The UK and US hold annual talks to discuss issues relating to Diego Garcia. In addition, my officials are in regular contact with US officials in London, Washington and Diego Garcia.
European Constitution
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2005, Official Report, column 1380W, on the European Constitution, if he will bring forward proposals for a mechanism to give the Scottish Parliament and other devolved bodies a role under this protocol regarding measures that are (a) devolved and (b) wholly or largely relating to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland; if he will make it his policy to allow devolved bodies, singularly or collectively, to determine one of the UK votes in these circumstances; and what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on the operation of the protocol. [221399]
Mr. MacShane:
The Government have had discussions with the devolved administrations about the possible operation of Protocol 2 of the EU Constitutional Treaty should it be approved. Article 6 of that Protocol states that
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It will be for each national Parliament or each chamber of a national Parliament to consult, where appropriate, regional parliaments with legislative powers".
The nature and extent of that consultation is for national Parliaments to decide, although the Government believe it would be desirable for views of devolved legislatures to be taken into account. It is the Government's view that for the purposes of this Article the UK national Parliament constitutes the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Gibraltar
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the British military presence in Gibraltar. [221385]
Mr. Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 March 2005, Official Report, column 340W.
Grievance Procedures
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what procedures govern the investigation of grievances by senior civil servants within his Department; and if he will make a statement. [221031]
Mr. Alexander: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's grievance procedures apply to all staff and comply with best practice guidelines and the requirements of the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004. Staff are encouraged to attempt to resolve a grievance informally. If this approach fails, there is a three-stage process for investigating the concern either through line management or Human Resources. We have placed a copy of our Grievance procedures in the Library of the House.
Immigration Appeals
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date Her Majesty's High Commission, Islamabad, sent the papers on the application for settlement of Mrs. S., wife of Mr. I.U.R., of Aylesbury (ISB/750278) to the Independent Appeal Authority. [221714]
Mr. Mullin: The papers were sent from the visa section at our High Commission in Islamabad to the Appeals Processing Centre (APC) at the Home Office on 30 October 2004. The APC are responsible for sending the papers forward to the Immigration Appellate Authority.
Intelligence Gathering
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2005, Official Report, column 1712W, on intelligence gathering, on how many occasions in the last year his Department has used information obtained by the use of torture in another country. [218763]
Mr. Straw:
I again refer my hon. Friend to the answerI gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 11 January 2005, Official Report, column 413W. I also
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refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence gave him on 7 February 2005, Official Report, column 1257W.
Iraq
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the individuals detained in Iraq by coalition forces because of alleged connection with weapons of mass destruction programmes; how long each has been detained; when they are expected to be released; and if he will make a statement. [215145]
Mr. Rammell: The Multi-National Force (MNF) has the power to intern individuals for imperative reasons of security in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1546 and the annexed exchange of letters between Prime Minister Allawi and the then US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Each case of detention is regularly reviewed by the detaining power and a decision taken on whether continued detention is necessary. While the reasons for these decisions are recorded, they have not been collated in a form that would enable us to answer this question on behalf of all multi-national forces. We would not, as a matter of policy, in any case release the names of those who had been detained so as to respect their privacy and to ensure there were no security repercussions for them.
We can, however, confirm that the United Kingdom is not detaining any individuals in Iraq on the basis of alleged connection with weapons of mass destruction programmes.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Iraqi Administration on holding new elections in (a) ChaldoAssyrian areas and (b) other parts of northern Iraq where problems with the delivery of ballot boxes may have occurred; and if he will make a statement. [220433]
Mr. Rammell: We are aware of the allegations of voting irregularities. A complaint was submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI), the only body competent to investigate alleged irregularities in the 30 January elections. The IECI is in the process of investigating all official complaints they have received. Once their investigations are completed, the IECI will write to each complainant and publish a report detailing their findings and the action they intend to take.
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) of 1 March 2005, Official Report, column 1052W, if he will publish the letters from Dr. Rod Barton of the Iraq Survey Group to which reference is made. [221027]
Mr. MacShane:
Dr. Barton's letters, to which he drew attention in a television documentary programme broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), were addressed to the Australian authorities. It is a matter for them to determine whether they should be published.
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The transcript of the documentary programme, and some of the papers relating to Dr. Barton's allegations, are available on the ABC website at www.abc.net.au/4corners.
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