Asked by: Baroness Clark of Kilwinning (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of India about the imprisonment of Jagtar Singh Johal.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We regularly raise Mr Johal's case directly with the Government of India, including his allegations of torture, his right to a fair trial, and concerns about delays to legal proceedings against him. We have emphasised to the Government of India the need for Mr Johal's torture allegations to be fully investigated. The Foreign Secretary raised Mr Johal's case with the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on 15 December 2020. The Secretary of State for International Trade raised the case with the Indian Minister for Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad, on 5 February. As the Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon last raised Mr Johal's case with the Indian High Commissioner on 16 April 2021. He also raised Mr Johal's case with the Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kishan Reddy, and with Minister Prasad on 15 March.
Asked by: Baroness Clark of Kilwinning (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Mexico about (1) the whereabouts of Claudia Uruchurtu, and (2) the steps it is taking to find her.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are concerned about the disappearance of Claudia Uruchurtu, a Mexican national who has been missing since 26 March. Our Ambassador has raised the disappearance with the Mexican authorities at both state and federal levels, and is continuing to do so in support of Claudia's British dual-national family. The Mexican authorities have committed to carrying out an investigation into Claudia's disappearance.
We are aware that the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances has issued an urgent action request to the Mexican state to locate Claudia. As Claudia is a Mexican national, and is in Mexico, our authority and responsibility for engaging in this case is limited. However, our Embassy staff in Mexico City are in contact with Claudia's sisters, who are in Mexico helping with the search, and our Embassy team is helping the family access assistance from human rights groups in the area, and from the local UN human rights office.
Asked by: Baroness Clark of Kilwinning (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held in relation to safety issues regarding civil vessels operating in close vicinity to (1) the Hunterston nuclear power station, and (2) nuclear power stations in general.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No discussions have been held specifically in relation to safety issues posed by civil vessels operating in close vicinity to any nuclear site.
Nuclear sites must comply with the UK’s stringent nuclear safety regulations, overseen by a robust and independent regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR).
The primary responsibility for nuclear safety, and the assessment of potential risks to a nuclear licensed site from all hazards, rests with the licence holder – in this case Magnox for Hunterston A and EDF Energy for Hunterston B. Under the licence conditions, licensees are required to consider the effect of a wide range of potentially hazardous events (man-made and environmental) and demonstrate that any associated risks to the nuclear facility are manageable and will not result in catastrophic consequences within the nuclear facility’s risk assessment (known as the ‘safety case’).
The ONR would not permit any site to operate if it judged that its safety case was not sufficiently robust and demonstrated that it could operate and shutdown safely under hazardous conditions.
Asked by: Baroness Clark of Kilwinning (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Office for Nuclear Regulation regarding the transportation of spent fuel rods recently discovered at the Hunterston nuclear power plant to the Sellafield nuclear power plant; and whether the spent fuel rods will now be transported to the Sellafield nuclear power plant.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The discovery of spent fuel at Hunterston A forms part of the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) approved safety case and operating procedure for the retrieval activities associated with waste at the site. The discovered spent fuel remains in a safe and controlled environment at Hunterston A until a decision has been made, in conjunction with the ONR, about how they should be processed, packaged and stored prior to final disposal.