Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of British judges continuing to serve on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
British judges have played an important role in supporting the independence of Hong Kong's judiciary for many years. We want and hope that this can continue. The UK judiciary is independent of the Government and it is for them to make an assessment on this. It is therefore right that the Supreme Court continues to assess the situation in Hong Kong, in discussion with the Government.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the employment of British barristers by the Hong Kong Department of Justice for the prosecution of Hong Kong residents on charges relating to protests against the governments of Hong Kong and China.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Anyone working on cases involving Hong Kong politicians and activists will want to assure themselves that the very highest legal standards, including fairness, are being upheld. The Government has been clear that the Hong Kong authorities must end their targeting of pro-democracy voices.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to ban British barristers from being employed by the Hong Kong Department of Justice for the prosecution of Hong Kong residents for charges relating (1) to state security, and (2) to civil protest.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Anyone working on cases involving Hong Kong politicians and activists will want to assure themselves that the very highest legal standards, including fairness, are being upheld. The Government has been clear that the Hong Kong authorities must end their targeting of pro-democracy voices.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to ban British judges from serving on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
British judges have played an important role in supporting the independence of Hong Kong's judiciary for many years. We want and hope that this can continue. The UK judiciary is independent of the Government and it is for them to make an assessment on this. It is therefore right that the Supreme Court continues to assess the situation in Hong Kong, in discussion with the Government.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make available to the Intelligence and Security Committee classified information that they may possess relating to any threats to Jamal Khashoggi before his murder in October.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to establish an inquiry into reports that the security services possessed intelligence concerning the threat to Jamal Khashoggi before his murder in October.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they possessed any intelligence about a threat to Jamal Khashoggi before his murder in October.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
Her Majesty's Government, as at 1 July, how many staff were attached to the UK Permanent Representation to NATO.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are 18 FCO UK-based members of staff and five FCO Locally Engaged members of staff working in UKDel NATO.
The Ministry of Defence also supports 18 military personnel and 10 civilian staff in the joint Delegation.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
Her Majesty's Government what was the total cost of the Office of the UK's Permanent Representative to NATO in 2016-17.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The 'Cost of Post' to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for the UK Delegation to NATO in Brussels in Financial Year 2016-17 was £2,953,128. This figure represents the Total Direct Expenditure including Management and Support activity.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
Her Majesty's Government how many formal and informal meetings of the Council of Ministers of the EU, and its committees, ministers attended in 2016.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Given the frequency of meetings and recent Ministerial changes, we would not be able to collate the attendance for 2016 in a way that would able us to answer your request without exceeding the appropriate cost and time limit.