Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to encourage US-based IT companies to make customer use data available to UK intelligence services to help tackle international terrorism.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Government works with IT companies around the world to ensure that we have the information required to tackle threats to the UK.
UK law grants warrants issued in pursuit of such data extra-territorial jurisdiction. The Government is also in the process of negotiating a bilateral agreement with the US which will aid the ability of US companies to respond to UK warrants.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish the (a) agenda, (b) attendees and (c) matters discussed and decided at the forum on combatting weapons of mass destruction proliferation hosted by his Department in London on 12 April 2016.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is a voluntary initiative, endorsed by 105 states, to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Of those states, 21 form the Operational Experts Group (OEG) who support the PSI by developing and disseminating best practice for all PSI endorsing states to draw on. OEG members meet annually, hosted this year by the UK. All OEG member states were represented at this year’s meeting.
The OEG discussed a wide range of issues, including current proliferation trends and challenges; transferrable skills and capacity building; intangible technology transfers; proliferation finance; aviation and shipping, including transit and trans-shipment; emerging threats; tools for capacity building and sharing best practice; legal issues; and outreach.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to require companies registered in the British Virgin Islands to publish details of all significant and beneficial owners and to place all such information on an online searchable register.
Answered by James Duddridge
Our priority for all the Overseas Territories that function with financial centres such as the British Virgin Islands has been for them to hold accurate and current beneficial ownership information on island in central registers or the equivalent, where they do not already do so, and to allow for UK law enforcement to access that information. The arrangement signed with the British Virgin Islands achieves this and represents a significant step forward in our ability to counter criminal activity and should be welcomed.
As the Prime Minister, the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) said in the House on 11 April, only about three countries in the world, including Britain, are implementing publically accessible central registers of company beneficial ownership information. If we had tried to push that on to the British Virgin Islands and other Overseas Territories straightaway, we would not have got nearly as far as we have. The actions taken by the British Virgin Islands and the other Overseas Territories puts them well ahead of many of our international partners.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to require all companies registered in British Overseas Territories to publish detailed annual accounts.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Overseas Territories are separate jurisdictions with their own democratically elected governments under which they are responsible for company law.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to prohibit the use of nominee directors for companies registered in British Overseas Territories.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Overseas Territories are separate jurisdictions with their own democratically elected governments under which they are responsible for company law.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK Ambassador to Panama has held any meetings with representatives of the firm Mossack Fonseca since May 2010.
Answered by Lord Swire
No
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has received in the case brought at the International Court of Justice in the Hague from 8 March 2016 by the Marshall Islands against the UK and other states on obligations concerning negotiations relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race and to nuclear disarmament.
Answered by Lord Swire
The Government received legal representations from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 24 April 2014, when the Marshall Islands submitted their application. I met Tony deBrum, the then Marshall Islands Foreign Minister, in May 2014 to discuss the issue. The UK filed written objections to jurisdiction and admissibility with the Court in June 2015, and the Marshall Islands provided a written response to those objections in October 2015. Oral hearings on whether the case should proceed to the next phase in which the merits will be considered are currently underway at the ICJ in The Hague.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proposals the UK plans to take to the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC in March and April 2016; and whether he plans to attend that summit.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) will lead the UK delegation to the Nuclear Security Summit on 31 March - 1 April. The UK National Statement and Progress Report will be published on the Summit website at the time of the Summit.