European Cybercrime Centre

(asked on 28th June 2017) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of losing access to the (a) European Cybercrime Centre and (b) Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment on tackling cybercrime after the UK leaves the EU.


Answered by
Brandon Lewis Portrait
Brandon Lewis
This question was answered on 7th July 2017

In a modern, interconnected world, crime is increasingly international and does not respect borders. The Government is clear that effective cooperation with EU Member States on security, justice and policing in order to tackle serious organised crime will continue to be a top UK priority.

The 2015 National Security Strategy (NSS) confirmed that cybercrime is a top threat to the UK’s economic and national security. The UK’s future security and prosperity depends on our ability to safeguard the digital information, data and networks at home and abroad. The cyber threats we face continue to grow in scale and sophistication. The Government will continue to invest in law enforcement capabilities to ensure delivery agencies have the capacity to deal with the increasing volume and sophistication of cyber crime.

The Government values the role of Europol and that is why the UK opted-in to the new Europol Regulation, which came into force on 1 May 2017, enabling us to maintain our current access to the agency and benefit from its cooperation and operational advantages until we leave the EU.

The Prime Minister has made clear that one of the twelve objectives for the negotiations ahead will be to establish a new relationship with the European Union that includes practical arrangements on matters of law enforcement cooperation to tackle cross-border crime and to keep our people safe.

We continue to work closely with EU partners and we are examining the options for future cooperation once the UK has left the EU.

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