§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the transcript of the interviews the Metropolitan Police held with(a) Movladi Akhmetkhanov and (b) Turpal Atgerier. [99250]
§ Mr. BattleThe information sought was provided in confidence (exemptions 1c and 14a of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information) and its disclosure could prejudice future cooperation in this and other cases (exemption 14b). The killings of the four hostages in Chechnya are also the subject of continuing law enforcement and possible legal proceedings by the Russian and Chechen authorities (exemption 4). It is therefore not appropriate to place records of these discussions in the Library.
§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the remit given by his Department to the Metropolitan Police in respect of their investigation into the murdered hostages in Chechnya. [99251]
§ Mr. BattleThe British Police have no general remit to investigate the murder of British nationals overseas. However, the Metropolitan Police Service carried out certain inquiries in support of the efforts of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to establish the circumstances of the killings of British hostages in Chechnya. There was no written remit; these inquiries followed HMG's efforts during the kidnap, in which the police always play an integral part.