Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Syrian refugees coming to Britain do not have criminal records or connections to extremist groups.

We take security extremely seriously in cases referred to us for resettlement, working closely with the UNHCR who have their own robust identification processes in place. When potential cases are submitted by the UNHCR for our consideration they are screened and considered by the Home Office for suitability for entry to the UK: we retain the right to reject individuals on security, war crimes or other grounds. For reasons of national security, we cannot provide further on the details of the screening process itself.