§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK lorry drivers have been arrested in EU countries for offences related to drug smuggling and human trafficking in each of the last three years; and what proportion of these have claimed to be innocent. [121454]
§ Mr. Mullin[holding answer 7 July 2003]: We do not have the statistics for the last three years on the points raised by my hon. Friend. It would incur disproportionate cost to provide this information. However, we are aware of 82 British lorry drivers currently detained in EU countries for drug smuggling or human trafficking offences.
We do not make judgments on the innocence or guilt of British nationals detained overseas.