Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 666W, on offences against children: internet, whether the intelligence packets were divided up into police authority areas based on the address of the suspected purchaser; and how many intelligence packages were sent to each police force in the UK.
Answered by Damian Green
I refer the Hon. Member to the reply given on 30 June 2014, Official Report,
column 377W.
National Crime Agency intelligence packages are disseminated to the most
appropriate police force based on information drawn from an investigation. This
was the case in Operation RESCUE/CALANDO.
The information requested on the number of intelligence packages sent to each
police force in the UK is operational and cannot be released because of the
possibility that there are related investigations or judicial processes
ongoing.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 4 March 2014, Official Report, column 730W, on British nationality, how many orders stripping people of citizenship have been made since 4 March 2014; what the nationality of each person so affected was; and what the grounds of the decision were in each additional case.
Answered by Karen Bradley
Since March 2014 fewer than five individuals have been deprived of their
British citizenship.
The grounds for the deprivation orders made during this period were either that:
• The Secretary of State was satisfied that such deprivation was conducive to
the public good and the person would not be made stateless as a result, or;
• the individual obtained their British citizenship by means of fraud, false
representation or concealment of material fact.
Due to the small number of cases involved, revealing the other nationalities of
the individuals deprived may make it possible to determine their identity and
so this detail will not be released.
This information has been provided from local management information and is not
a national statistic. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore
subject to change
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on how many UK-based registered users of the paedophile file sharing network website boylover.net have been identified by international authorities in (a) the US and (b) Holland; what proportion of those was passed to UK authorities for investigation; what steps her Department is taking to trace those registered users; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Norman Baker
I refer the Hon. Member to the reply given on 19 June 2014, Official Report, columns 666-667W.
Following two linked international investigations into the boylover.net
website, information was provided to the Child Exploitation and Online
Protection Centre (CEOP) by US authorities and Europol that related to UK-based
registered users. CEOP was, at that time, an affiliate of the Serious Organised
Crime Agency. We do not maintain a record of the number of UK-registered users
of the website identified by United States or Dutch authorities, nor of what
proportion of those users were passed to CEOP. However, as a consequence of the
information provided and through CEOP's own investigations, 240 intelligence
packages were prepared and subsequently disseminated to police forces across
the UK. Further information regarding charges, convictions and open
investigations is handled at a local level by the relevant police force and
is not recorded nationally.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 667W, on offences against children: internet, to which police forces intelligence packages were disseminated; and how many such packages were sent to each such force.
Answered by Damian Green
I refer the Hon Member to the reply given on 19 June 2014, Official Report, columns
666-667W.
The information requested is operational and cannot be released because of the
possibility that there are related investigations or judicial processes
ongoing.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many arrests in the UK have resulted from Operation Rescue; how many charges were brought following those arrests; how many open investigations remain from those identified; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Damian Green
Operation Rescue was an investigation into a website that promoted the distribution of Indecent Images of Children. From 2007 to 2011, 240 intelligence packages were disseminated by the SOCA affiliated Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP) to Police Forces across the UK.
At the end of the intelligence dissemination phase of the operation in 2011 CEOP had been notified of 121 arrests; of these 33 individuals were convicted and 7 cautioned.
Further information regarding charges, convictions and open investigations is handled at a local level by the relevant police force and is not recorded centrally.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has provided any advice to public communications providers on the consequences of the decision of the European Court of Justice in Digital Rights Ireland and Seitlinger and Others on data retention by those companies.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Government continues to consider the judgment of the European Court, but we consider that the UK Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009 remain in
force. Those in receipt of a notice under the Regulations have been informed that they should continue to observe their obligations as outlined in any notice.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether public communications providers have sought advice from her Department on the consequences of the decision of the European Court of Justice in Digital Rights Ireland and Seitlinger and Others on data retention by those companies.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Government continues to consider the judgment of the European Court, but we consider that the UK Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009 remain in
force. Those in receipt of a notice under the Regulations have been informed that they should continue to observe their obligations as outlined in any notice.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role her Department's Centre for Applied Science and Technology has in (a) the trial of the Aeryon Skyranger drone around Gatwick Airport and (b) the trial or use of any other surveillance aircraft operated by government departments, agents or public bodies in the UK.
Answered by Karen Bradley
CAST has no direct role in the Gatwick trial, but does liaise with the trial
team in order to learn from their experience.
Trials conducted by other Departments and their agencies are matters for the
respective departments.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the advice of Jemima Stratford QC to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drones; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Damian Green
Existing regulation and guidance, which includes the Covert Surveillance and
Property Interference Code of Practice, applies to the use of aircraft
including remotely piloted aerial vehicles. The Code provides a framework of good
practice for public authorities using covert surveillance techniques. The
Department has noted the responses by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on
Drones to the recent consultation on a revised version of the Code and intend
to lay a further draft before Parliament in due course.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 19 March 2014, Official Report, column 607W, on unmanned air vehicles, whether any person, agent or public body has provided video imagery or other data to her Department obtained by unmanned aircraft systems in the UK; and for what purposes.
Answered by James Brokenshire
I am advised that no imagery or other data from such sources is held by the Department.