Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Melton) (Con) (Urgent Question): To ask
the Home Secretary if she will make a statement on the legal status
of overseas Chinese police stations operating in the UK. Mr Speaker
I welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box for the first time. The
Minister for Security (Tom Tugendhat) Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is
a great pleasure to be here on my first outing at the Dispatch Box
to speak about something that, as the House will know,...Request free trial
(Rutland and Melton)
(Con)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Home Secretary if she will make a
statement on the legal status of overseas Chinese police stations
operating in the UK.
Mr Speaker
I welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box for the first
time.
The Minister for Security ()
Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is a great pleasure to be here on my
first outing at the Dispatch Box to speak about something that,
as the House will know, I take extremely seriously. Reports of
undeclared police stations in the United Kingdom are, of course,
extremely concerning and will be taken seriously. Any foreign
country operating on United Kingdom soil must abide by UK law. I
have discussed this matter with the police and I am assured that
they are investigating allegations of unlawful activity. It would
be inappropriate for me to comment further on operational
matters.
I will take the opportunity, however, to reassure the House of
the Government’s resolve to take the matter seriously. I will
also shortly make a statement to the House on safeguarding our
democracy. The protection of people in the United Kingdom is of
the utmost importance. Any attempt to illegally repatriate any
individual will not be tolerated. This egregious activity is part
of a wider trend of authoritarian Governments perpetrating
transnational repression in an effort to silence their critics
overseas and undermine democracy and the rule of law. For
example, we have been aware for some time of efforts to interfere
in our academic freedoms and university sector, and we have been
taking steps to protect our institutions.
This Government are committed to tackling the challenge of
transnational repression wherever it originates. It would be
unacceptable for any foreign Government to feel able to operate
in that way in the United Kingdom, and it must be stopped. The
Home Office works closely with Departments across Whitehall and
with devolved Administrations to ensure that our national
security is protected and that, in particular, those who have
chosen to settle here are free to engage in our democratic
society without fear of the regimes that they have tried to leave
behind.
Through our excellent police forces and the agencies that work
with them, we take a proactive approach to protecting individuals
and communities from all manner of threats. Where we identify
individuals who may be at heightened risk, we are front-footed in
deploying protective security guidance and other measures where
necessary. I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for
Chingford and Woodford Green ( ) and particularly my hon.
Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (), who has taken over the
best job in Parliament as Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
They have worked tirelessly on this issue, including with our
close international partners.
The upcoming National Security Bill will strengthen our legal
powers to deal with transnational repression. Coercion,
harassment or intimidation linked to a foreign power that
interfere with the freedoms of individuals will be criminalised
under the new foreign interference offence in the Bill. Existing
criminal offences against a person, such as assault, may also
have sentences increased using the state threats aggravating
factor in the Bill where they are undertaken for, on behalf of or
with the intention to benefit a foreign power. The Bill will
introduce a new foreign influence registration scheme, for which
many hon. Members have campaigned, including my hon. Friend the
Member for Rutland and Melton. That will provide greater
transparency around foreign interference in our society.
It is clear, however, that we can and must do more. I have
therefore asked officials to step up the work to ensure that our
approach to transnational repression is robust, and I have asked
our Department to review our approach to transnational repression
as a matter of urgency. I will provide an update on that work to
the House in due course.
I thank Mr Speaker for granting this urgent question. I take this
opportunity to welcome my right hon. Friend to his place and say
how reassured I am to have someone of his expertise leading on
this important area for our national security.
There are troubling reports of a widespread network of Chinese
police stations operating worldwide, including three in our
country in Croydon, Hendon and Glasgow. Publicly, those stations
are harmless administrative centres for Chinese nationals, but
reports suggest that they are actually used to hunt down
dissidents and alleged Chinese criminals. The Chinese Government
have admitted their existence, so I have some questions for the
Minister. What is the legal basis for their operations on UK
soil? Are Chinese officials involved in their administration? I
welcome that the Minister has tasked an investigation, but will
he commit to update the House on it in due course?
Finally, the British national overseas scheme was world leading,
but we have a duty to protect those who come here and seek refuge
on our soil. Does he agree that, following the Chinese consul
general’s attack on a Hongkonger only a couple of weeks ago, we
are playing a dangerous game in sacrificing our sovereignty and
the safety of not just British nationals, but refugees at the
altar of not wanting to upset an authoritarian state?
I again pay tribute to the work that my hon. Friend has done over
recent weeks, in particular, and years in alerting this House and
the country to the threats that we have faced from authoritarian
regimes around the world. I pay particular tribute to her
leadership of the China Research Group, on which I was honoured
to work with her before.
The reports that my hon. Friend mentions are not exclusive to
this country. Sadly, we have seen authoritarian states exercising
repressive tendencies abroad and seeking to extradite, or indeed
inveigle, citizens of their own country back to their homeland to
extract punishment. That is simply unacceptable. The protections
of the UK state need to apply to all those in the United Kingdom
and it is absolutely essential that those protections are
afforded to all. That is why I am working, and will work further,
with the police and agencies to ensure that we are on top of this
offence and that, should evidence be shown and proof be given,
action will be taken.
I also thank my hon. Friend enormously for her comments about the
British national overseas scheme. She is right that that was not
only world leading but essential for protecting British nationals
in the face of an authoritarian dictatorship, and that those who
come here under the scheme should be afforded the same
protections, rights and dignity as all British nationals
everywhere.
(Halifax) (Lab)
I, too, welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box. I am grateful
to the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton () for securing the urgent
question. As we have heard, the Safeguard Defenders report
alleges that the Chinese Communist party has set up parallel
policing mechanisms around the world. The report identifies three
such stations in Hendon, Glasgow and Croydon that purport to
offer services for Chinese nationals abroad. There have been
multiple reports, however, that those stations are cracking down
on Chinese political dissidents, including Hong Kong ex-pats and
Uyghur refugees.
According to the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation,
people from Hong Kong relocating to the UK are being
“followed, harassed, attacked and intimidated”
by operatives based at the Glasgow station. The recent
unacceptable conduct that we witnessed outside the Chinese
consulate in Manchester makes it clear that we have to act to
safeguard those in the UK from increasingly belligerent measures
being undertaken by those acting on behalf of the Chinese
state.
With the Minister’s predecessor, the right hon. Member for
Stevenage (), we discussed in the
National Security Bill Committee that the harassment of
dissidents was becoming an increasing concern. What assessment
have the Government made of these stations and what action have
they taken to disrupt these damaging activities? The foreign
influence registration scheme is long overdue, as he and others
have said, so can he put on record exactly when it will be
introduced?
The Government previously stated that the Home Office and the
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have drawn
up plans to protect those arriving from Hong Kong from
surveillance and harassment. Can the Minister elaborate on what
those provisions are? The rule of law and freedom of expression
are fundamental principles in our democracy and we must act to
make it clear to any overseas regime that only UK police forces
undertake policing in this country—with absolutely no
exceptions.
I thank the hon. Lady for the tone with which she has approached
not just the urgent question but the National Security Bill
Committee, and for the openness and frankness with which she has
enabled us to work on a truly cross-party basis on what is
fundamentally a national security question for our whole country.
I am extremely grateful for the way she has addressed these
questions.
The Safeguard Defenders report that the hon. Lady cites certainly
raises some very serious concerns. Those are being looked into.
Of course, it would not be the first time an authoritarian
dictatorship had claimed powers that it does not have, so we are
looking into the assessment and, as I say, we will come back to
the House with a report when and if action needs to be taken.
On FIRS, the hon. Lady is absolutely right that this is a matter
that many of us have raised on numerous occasions. As soon as the
National Security Bill is through the House—as she is well aware,
that will, I hope, be very soon—those powers will be able to be
used to defend not just this country but Members of this House
against the intimidation or influence of those who seek to lobby
or influence, masking the fact that they are doing so for a
foreign state.
On protections, the hon. Lady is, again, absolutely right. The
reality is that there is no police force in this country that has
jurisdiction except the police forces of the United Kingdom. She
is absolutely right that no foreign force should have abilities
to influence, detain, hold or pressurise citizens of our country,
except those that are agreed to by law.
(New Forest East) (Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend to his new post and congratulate
him on it. Is he able to explain the criteria under which a
so-called diplomat found guilty of a criminal assault would be
declared persona non grata? On our concern about unofficial
foreign police forces in our country, how safe should Hong Kong
students feel in UK universities, given the amount of physical
and especially financial penetration of those universities by
communist Chinese entities?
May I thank the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security
Committee for his kind words and emphasise my keenness to work
with his Committee and Members across the House to make sure that
we address this subject together? His question about diplomats
is, I am afraid, one for the Foreign Office, but he can be
absolutely assured that information arising from any inquiry or
assessment by the Home Office or by police forces or agencies
will feed straight into the Foreign Office for its
evaluation.
As for Hongkongers in UK universities, my right hon. Friend will
know that, in a former incarnation, I may have been responsible
for the publication of a Foreign Affairs Committee report in 2019
that highlighted the threat that some face in universities. He
can be absolutely assured that that has not left my desk.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
I call the SNP spokesman, .
(Cumbernauld, Kilsyth
and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)
I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton
() on securing this important
urgent question, and I welcome the Minister to his place.
These are really alarming and incredibly serious allegations,
which, as the Minister says, have to be properly investigated.
Indeed, the suggested international scale of these activities
across 30 countries on five continents is actually pretty
shocking. Given the international perspective, what discussions
are the Minister and his counterparts having with colleagues in
the EU and beyond about how they can co-ordinate on this
matter?
What steps can the Minister say have been taken to ensure that
law enforcement and security services have the skills and
resources to tackle the matter? This seems a recent and different
challenge for them. Will he say a little more about the
co-ordination with devolved Governments who have responsibility
for policing?
The Minister expressed confidence that the powers in the National
Security Bill, which we have debated at some length, will be
sufficient to tackle this type of alleged activity. Will he
express a willingness to use those powers if these allegations
are made out?
Finally, does the Minister agree that, while our attention is
rightly focused on the bad actors seeking to control and coerce
Chinese residents, BNOs and others, it is all the more important
that we remember and support the many other groups, businesses
and individuals who do positive work in supporting their
communities to contribute to our society?
I thank the hon. Member for the tone with which he has addressed
these questions. This is truly a United Kingdom issue, and the
way to address them is for the United Kingdom to work
together.
The hon. Member is absolutely right that there are wider
dimensions, which include our friends and allies around the
world. The Government have already been working with Governments
around the world to make sure that we deal with the repression
and oppression that we are seeing in different places. He will
remember well the way in which the United Kingdom stood so
clearly with the Government of Canada to call out the illegal
detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. I am delighted to
say that that will continue.
The hon. Member is right that working with police forces across
the United Kingdom—including Police Scotland, which does
excellent work—is really important, but it is also important that
they have access to the resources that we are able to bring as
the United Kingdom. The agencies that do so much to support us
all are essential.
I am grateful for the hon. Member’s kind words about the National
Security Bill. His support on that Bill has been incredibly
important and demonstrates that this truly is a cross-party,
cross-nation effort to keep the whole of the United Kingdom safe.
He can be absolutely assured that I will not hesitate to use the
powers in the Bill should they be required.
The hon. Member’s question on the community is also really
important. We need to make it absolutely clear that what we are
resisting here is authoritarian Governments seeking to influence
free people. We welcome people from across the world. We welcome
people from communities that may be repressed at home but can be
free here. It is essential that we champion those who can enjoy
freedom here, and the Hongkongers are a clear demonstration that
this Government and this country welcome those seeking
freedom.
(Chingford and Woodford
Green) (Con)
I am grateful to Mr Speaker for granting the urgent question and
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton
() on securing it.
I am pleased to see my right hon. Friend at the Dispatch Box; he
should duck his shoulders, because he is responsible for none of
what I am about to say. May I simply say that we are seeing a
litany of general excuses from the Government, albeit not from
him directly? A week ago, they had to be dragged to the House
twice to talk about the punishment beating that was meted out in
Manchester—no statement was offered—and now we have another
UQ.
This business about these police stations has been well known and
well documented for ages. Every other country that has them is
now investigating with a view to getting rid of them—Canada,
Chile, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands
and the USA are all about to kick them out—but we have still not
undertaken a full investigation. Even in Scotland, the First
Minister has decided to investigate the Glasgow site; we have
done nothing about the two sites here in England.
I simply say to my right hon. Friend—with the best intentions,
because he is sanctioned, like I am, by this brutal regime—that
we have testimony from endless people, we have a Chinese
Government who have set up these police stations, we have
Confucius Institutes bullying Chinese students here, we have seen
them beaten up on the streets in the UK, and we wonder very much
whether they feel safe. Will he therefore take back to the
Government, and to the Foreign Office, the message that it is
high time they showed some strength and acted immediately to get
rid of the diplomats responsible in Manchester, to investigate
these police stations and kick them out, and to do the same with
the Confucius Institutes? Otherwise, we look like we are dragging
our feet compared with our neighbours.
I welcome the words of my fellow sanctionee. That is one of the
few foreign accolades of which I think we are equally proud.
Let me make a few points. First, there is no delay in
investigation in this country. I can assure my right hon. Friend
that the assessment will be coming forward urgently. As he will
well understand, I will be extremely keen to hear the result. May
I also remind him of the Prime Minister’s pledge during the
leadership race only a few months ago that Confucius Institutes
pose a threat to civil liberties in many universities in the
United Kingdom and he will be looking to close them?
I thank my right hon. Friend for his words about the Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office. I am sure that Ministers
from that Department will seek to make a statement, but I am sure
they will be waiting for the reports that will be provided to
them. He is absolutely right that there is no place for those who
abuse their diplomatic privilege or the liberties of this country
in order to oppress citizens here.
(Croydon Central) (Lab)
I congratulate the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton () on securing the urgent
question. One of the alleged stations is in my constituency. I
have to confess that when I first received emails about it from
constituents I thought it was some kind of hoax. The address
where the police station is supposed to be is that of a business
that has written to me recently asking for a meeting, so, at
first, I thought it could not possibly be true. It appears now
that the reality is much more alarming.
I am grateful to the Minister for stating that he will come back
to the House and tell us what his investigations have found, but
I wonder whether he can give some reassurance to the people of
Croydon—in particular the citizens from China and Hong Kong who
live in my constituency—that they will be safe. Perhaps he might
agree to meet me to talk about what may or may not be happening
in the middle of my town.
The hon. Lady is absolutely right that a commitment to all
citizens of the United Kingdom and all citizens in the United
Kingdom is equally valid, wherever they come from and whichever
community they are from. Of course I will make that commitment to
meet her, and I will be delighted to hear more.
(Worcester) (Con)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton
() on securing this urgent
question. I welcome my right hon. Friend the Minister to his
position on the Front Bench and the fact that he says he takes
this extremely seriously and that the police are investigating. I
raised this issue in the House two weeks ago on behalf of a
concerned constituent during a Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office statement. Unfortunately, the follow-up from
the FCDO was transferred to the Home Office, which then
communicated to me that it did not intend to respond. Can my
right hon. Friend therefore reassure my constituent that there
will be a co-ordinated response across Government to what is
basically an assault on British sovereignty, and may I suggest
that he leads on that response?
I am delighted to offer that commitment.
(Glasgow South)
(SNP)
I congratulate the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the
hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (), on bringing the former
Chair of the FAC, the Minister, to the Dispatch Box on this
issue, and I greatly welcome his appointment to Government.
Although the stations are what has grabbed the headlines and
attention of many, the broader issue, as has been mentioned, is
the Chinese Communist party using all the instruments of its
international architecture, including the Confucius Institutes,
to harass, intimidate and track down people. Do the Government
now intend to review any and all co-operation agreements they
have with law enforcement bodies in China; I am not calling for
them to be scrapped at this stage, but will they at least be
reviewed, if they do exist? As my hon. Friend the Member for
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East () mentioned from the
Front Bench, the devolved Administrations have responsibility for
policing but also for education. They need to have a seat at the
table and be part of a broader strategy in unpicking this
reliance on Chinese cash—let us be honest, that is what it is
down to. Lastly, given FBI expertise in this area and the success
in the US of closing down these stations and closing off
opportunities to harass and intimidate people, have the
Government at least been in touch with their counterparts in the
FBI to tap into their expertise?
It is like an FAC reunion hearing the hon. Gentleman, my former
Committee friend, making his points. He is right that the way we
engage with authoritarian dictatorships and powers around the
world is constantly under review, and, as he will understand,
that is going to be of particular interest to me in my new role.
He is also right that the devolved Administrations and
Governments need an absolute commitment that they will be part of
this conversation, and he knows that I will always work with
every part of the United Kingdom and make sure that voices are
heard and support is offered. I am committed to the defence of
the whole of the United Kingdom. I am also committed to
co-operating with foreign partners, and the hon. Gentleman
rightly mentioned the FBI. We also work closely with Canada and
Australia on many of these issues, and indeed with many European
countries, who have been extremely good partners and very firm
friends.
(Isle of Wight) (Con)
I add to the FAC reunion. I congratulate the Minister on his new
role and my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton () on securing the urgent
question. Do any other states have similar ad hoc covert or overt
police stations in the United Kingdom, and for how long have the
Government known about these Chinese police stations in the UK?
It is great that the Minister speaks tough on this, and I know he
has talked about it at length as have many other members of the
FAC, but to echo the words of my right hon. Friend the Member for
Chingford and Woodford Green ( ) and my hon. Friend the
Member for Worcester (Mr Walker), we have had increasingly tough
words for too long. What we have not had is a realistic and
robust defence of our democratic values and democratic
institutions, so can the Government now get real on this?
My hon. Friend is right that it has been alleged that other
states have had connections in this regard, and that is being
looked at. On the length of time question, I hope he will forgive
me for not going into operational details, but he can be
absolutely assured that that will prove part of the assessment.
As to action, I merely urge him to wait a few moments as I will
be making a statement very shortly that I hope will answer some
of his questions.
(Orkney and Shetland)
(LD)
I congratulate the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton () on securing the urgent
question and welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box. I hope his
appointment brings us into an era where Government actions match
their rhetoric on this issue, because it simply is not good
enough for us to rely on organisations like Safeguard Defenders
to bring this to light. I hear what he says about the National
Security Bill, and he knows he has support across the House on
that, but what we have heard about is not something that requires
new legislation; we could be tackling it now. We must look at
Chinese influence of this sort in commerce and academia, because
if the UK was doing this in China—if the boot was on the other
foot—it would be a very different story.
The right hon. Gentleman makes a good point about reciprocal
action. When the Prime Minister appointed me he was extremely
clear on how he saw the role of security and what he saw as my
responsibility, and the right hon. Gentleman can be assured that
I take this extremely seriously. This is an issue that I have
been vociferous about for a number of years, and I am very
pleased to have the opportunity now to act.
(Colne Valley) (Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend to the Dispatch Box and
congratulate the Chair of the FAC, my hon. Friend the Member for
Rutland and Melton (), on raising this important
issue. I want to return to the question of intimidation and
threats on university campuses and assessments of any foreign
state involvement in that. What guidance has been or will be
issued to university vice-chancellors about the threats of these
transnational oppressive actions?
My hon. Friend kindly refers to the FAC report of 2019. While I
am not going to comment on actions taken towards
universities—that is a matter for the Department for
Education—the reality is that the communication between my office
and that Department will only grow, as, sadly, these incidents
appear to.
(Leeds Central) (Lab)
I welcome the Minister to his place. Can he confirm that the
three premises referred to today have at no time been notified to
the Government under the Vienna convention on diplomatic
relations? If not, will his investigation include looking into
how the people working out of these places came to be given visas
by the Home Office?
I can tell from the question that the right hon. Gentleman has
had many years of experience in these matters, and he can be
assured that those questions are already part of the assessment I
will be bringing and will form part of the report that I will
conclude.
(Edinburgh West) (LD)
I also thank the Chair of the FAC, the hon. Member for Rutland
and Melton (), and welcome the Minister
to his place. My constituency is home to the Chinese consulate in
Scotland. It is also in a city with a number of universities and
a large Hong Kong Chinese population. There are concerns about
the activities that we now learn are going on in this country.
Can the Minister assure us that the consulate and its activities
will be part of this security monitoring exercise?
The commitment I have made is clear: actions that are
incompatible with diplomatic status will be considered. This will
be focused on the areas that have been raised, but I assure the
hon. Lady that if it leads elsewhere, it will lead elsewhere. I
pay tribute to the various universities in Edinburgh for their
commitment to freedom and for the way in which they have handled
many other issues similar to this one.
(Swansea West)
(Lab/Co-op)
I also welcome the Minister and his statement. I have a good
working relationship with the Chinese community in Swansea, who
enjoy the peace and harmony afforded to them by the rights and
protections that come from living in Britain. Will he assure me
that, where Chinese nationals or others are detained in these
police stations, their cases will be seen as akin to hostage
taking, that the full force of British law will be focused on any
breaches of our law—whether intimidation, harassment, bullying or
illegal data collection and surveillance—and that we will
continue to set examples to ensure that people are safe and known
to be safe?
The rights of citizens in this country have been set out in law
in various different ways for a little over 800 years. It is
absolutely clear who has and who does not have the right to
detain any citizen in this country. The law applies equally to
all.
(Glasgow North West)
(SNP)
I welcome the Minister to his place. As shocking as it is to hear
about these police stations, we are aware that China’s reach goes
beyond that. Many Chinese citizens living in our communities are
here not permanently but for a short time—I talk in particular
about the Chinese student community—and will go back to China.
Will he detail the steps that he plans to take to ensure that
those Chinese students can enjoy the same freedoms as we do in
this country without fear of interference from their own
Government?
The hon. Lady is absolutely right to celebrate those Chinese
citizens who come here temporarily for study or for other reasons
and to highlight that one of the reasons why they come is that
our universities across these islands have a long history of
academic freedom that allows debate, innovation and challenge
that sees ideas flourish and bad ideas fail. It is essential that
all students have those rights. That is why the report and
assessment will look into how we approach these situations and
ensure that all students and citizens, wherever they are from and
whatever they are doing, are afforded the same protections, as
they should be.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
I refer hon. Members to my entry in the Register of Members’
Financial Interests and congratulate the hon. Member for Rutland
and Melton () on securing the urgent
question. I also welcome the right hon. Gentleman to the Dispatch
Box and the way in which he strongly reaffirmed that people on
British soil will always be afforded the fullest protection of
their rights and freedoms by the British state. We need to make
it perfectly clear to China and others that only one law applies
on these shores and it is the law of this land, which this
Parliament and the devolved institutions have put in place. Does
he think that the existence of these police stations is a breach
of international law?
I entirely agree with the hon. Member about there being one law
across this country. After all, that was the point of the common
law and the reforms of hundreds of years ago that have seen
liberty flourish and opportunity prosper in these islands. He
will forgive me but, since I gave up the chairmanship of the
Committee, I have forfeited the right to have personal opinions,
but the Government have absolutely the commitment that he
mentioned that all laws in this country will be voted for and
allowed only by this House or the devolved Administrations, and
that all citizens here and all those visiting will be under the
same law.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I congratulate the right hon. Member on his long-awaited
elevation to Minister. It is genuinely, truly well deserved.
Further to my business question last Thursday on the despicable
actions taking place in Chinese buildings in the UK, while we all
recognise the right of an embassy never to have foreign
influence, will he confirm that our underlying moral duty is to
ensure that torture is not carried out on any inch of our soil?
In accepting that, what diplomatic and legal steps can be taken
to prevent torture?
I thank the hon. Member for his kind words. The House had to wait
a little while longer for me to speak from the Dispatch Box than
it normally has to wait for him to ask a question to whoever is
at the Dispatch Box. I am grateful that he is in his place for my
first event.
The hon. Gentleman’s point about torture is incredibly important
as that is one of the few completely unconditional rights that
every citizen in the country has been afforded for many years. He
is absolutely right that any accusations of torture or violations
of human rights on these islands or in any way under the
jurisdiction of the United Kingdom would be taken extremely
seriously.
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