The House of Lords EU Security and
Justice Sub-Committee have today expressed continued
concerns about the potential risks to public safety if the UK
does not reach agreement with the EU on future security
collaboration by the end of the transition period in
2020.
The Committee Chair has today
written to Security Minister, Rt Hon MP, to express Members’ deep concern about the
Government’s plans to replace EU security and policing
measures with ‘inadequate non-EU alternatives’ that
will put the public’s safety at risk, in the event of no deal on
policing and criminal justice cooperation.
“Serious consequences for UK law enforcement
operations”
The Committee’s letter cites evidence from
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Martin, the National Police
Chiefs’ Council’s Lead for Brexit, given in February 2020
before a joint meeting of the Lords’ Justice and Home Affairs
Sub-Committees, which predicted serious consequences for UK
law enforcement operations if the UK does not reach a deal with
its EU partners by the end of the transition period in
December.
DAC Martin’s evidence highlighted the value of
current EU cooperation, most powerfully the fact that in
2019, the UK police checked the Schengen Information System
(SISII) “603 million times” and he warned that
whatever deal the Government secures, “we want to make sure
there is not a gap between what we have now and what we have in
the future, because fast, real-time access to intelligence and
data… is absolutely critical”.
That evidence contrasts with the confidence
displayed by the Security Minister in front of the Committee and
in his letter dated 26 June, where he stated that, in the absence
of an agreement although there would be “some mutual loss of
capability … the UK has well-developed and well-rehearsed
plans in place to transition cooperation with EU Member States to
alternative, non-EU arrangements …”
Lord Rickett’s letter argues that the
Government’s position downplays the consequences of
no-deal and it raises concerns about the adequacy of the
planned measures to replace the current highly effective
cooperation with the EU, for example on extradition and data
sharing, as well as on policing in Northern
Ireland.
Commenting on the Government’s contingency
plans , Committee
Chair, said:
“Compelling evidence has been laid before the
Committee and its predecessors about the significant consequences
for law enforcement in the UK if there is no deal on policing and
criminal justice cooperation. This stands in stark
contrast to the Government’s optimism that they have plans for
non-EU alternatives that can substitute effectively for the
exceptional levels of cooperation the British law enforcement and
justice communities currently enjoy with their colleagues in EU
countries.
“Without a deal, the loss of operational
effectiveness for UK law enforcement agencies – including in
Northern Ireland - will be profound, undermining modern
intelligence led policing and putting the safety of the public at
risk. We urge the Government to address these issues as a matter
of urgency.”
Notes to editors
-
The full letter is available on the committee
website, here
