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27 Jun 2005 : Column 1245W—continued
Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he will reply to the letters from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to (a) Martin Rathfelder, dated 31 March, (b) Mr. N. Hussain, dated 23 March and (c) Timothy Feist, dated 22 March; [188]
(2) when he will answer the letter dated 23 March from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. N. Hussain. [2631]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information is as follows:
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letters from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to (a) Mr. A. Bokes, dated 8 March, (b) Scholastic Dube, dated 23 March, (c) Mr. M. M. Berrish, dated 23 March and (d) Mr. R. M. Farooqi, dated 3 March. [193]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information is as follows:
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the letter to him dated 22 March from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Timothy Feist. [2122]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
I replied to my right hon. Friend on 12 April 2005.
27 Jun 2005 : Column 1246W
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the letter to him dated 4 April from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Hassan Nadir Rashid. [2128]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 24 May 2005.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the letter to him dated 7 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Jamal Mohammed Bin Omar Al Ridal. [2129]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 1 March 2005.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to answer the letter to him dated 11 May from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Mukhdoom Ali. [6173]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 24 June.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the letter dated 23 March from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mr. N. Hussain. [7932]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 1 April.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to answer the letter dated 9 May, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Zahoor Ahmed. [4493]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 23 June 2005.
Defendants (Greater London)
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) the immigration status and (b) the nationality of convicted defendants in magistrates courts in the Greater London area is recorded. [2834]
Ms Harman: I have been asked to reply.
Information on (a) the immigration status and (b) the nationality of convicted defendants in magistrates courts in the Greater London area is not currently recorded.
Identity Cards
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the merits of including radio frequency identification chips in (a) passports and (b) identity cards. [4142]
Mr. McNulty:
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) initiated feasibility studies evaluating the acceptability and implementation options for biometrics and the storage of electronic data on passports including the use of radio frequency identification chips (RFID). These are available on the ICAO website.
27 Jun 2005 : Column 1247W
The United Kingdom Passport Service (UKPS) has played a significant role in the development of the options and subsequent standards. The UKPS has adopted these standards within the technical design of the biometric passport.
No final decisions have been taken yet on the chip technology for ID cards.
Immigration Service Work
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to complete discussions with HM Revenue and Customs on the future arrangements for immigration service work in Berwick-upon-Tweed previously carried out on an agency basis by HM Customs and Excise officer based in the town; and what interim arrangements have been made to cover this work. [3804]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 20 June 2005]: The Immigration Service have recently been informed that HM Revenue and Customs propose to close the Customs House at Berwick-upon-Tweed. The immigration office at North Shields will continue to provide immigration coverage.
Kamel Bourgass
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on which day staff from Porton Down alerted (a) the police and (b) Ministers about the error that had been made in statements issued that ricin had been found in the flat occupied by Kamel Bourgass; and what action was taken by (i) the police and (ii)Ministers when it was found that an error had been made. [1304]
Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 6 June 2005]: An initial test conducted by Dstl Porton Down on 6 January 2003 on an exhibit taken by police from the flat occupied by Kamal Bourgass gave an apparent positive result for ricin. However, confirmatory tests which were conducted throughout the period from 7 January 2003 to 28 January 2003 failed to detect the presence of ricin.
Ricin was identified and confirmed on 7 January, 2003 in a second exhibit, consisting of 22 castor beans seized from the flat. Nicotine poison was also identified and confirmed. Other materials, specifically mentioned in the poison recipes recovered from the flat were also found including acetone and isopropyl alcohol.
The Prosecuting Counsel (Mr. Sweeney QC), Crown Prosecution Service, was verbally informed of the ricin test result at a case conference on 20 March, 2003 by Dstl. The Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch was also represented at the meeting where the information was provided. The result was also provided in a written statement which was made available to the Crown Prosecution Service and the metropolitan police at that time.
Further tests on the first exhibit on 27/28 April, 2003 also did not detect ricin.
We do not have a record of the date this information was passed from the police to the Home Office and subsequently to Ministers.
27 Jun 2005 : Column 1248W
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date (a) the police first reported the discovery of traces of ricin in the London flat used by Kamel Bourgass and his associates and (b) Porton Down chemical and biological weapons research centre first indicated that there was no ricin in the flat; and if he will make a statement. [1852]
Mr. Charles Clarke: An initial test conducted by Dstl Porton Down on 6 January 2003 on an exhibit taken by police from the flat occupied by Kamal Bourgass gave an apparent positive result for ricin. However, confirmatory tests which were conducted throughout the period from 7 January 2003 to 28 January 2003 failed to detect the presence of ricin.
Ricin was identified and confirmed by Dstl on 7 January, 2003 in a second exhibit, consisting of 22 castor beans seized from the flat. Nicotine poison was also identified and confirmed. Other materials, specifically mentioned in the poison recipes recovered from the flat were also found including acetone and isopropyl alcohol.
The Prosecuting Counsel (Mr. Sweeney QC), Crown Prosecution Service, was verbally informed of the ricin test result at a case conference on 20 March, 2003 by Dstl. The Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch was also represented at the meeting where the information was provided. The result was also provided in a written statement which was made available to the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police at that time.
Further tests on the first exhibit on 27–28 April, 2003 also did not detect rich.
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