§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning information supplied by Her Majesty's Government to the San Francisco immigration and naturalisation service about Mrs. Nina Hutchinson which formed the basis of the decision to refuse her entry into the United States of America in December 1988; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what representations he has received concerning exchanges of information under the proposed incorporation of the European treaty on mutual assistance into British law; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what information on British citizens is made available by Her Majesty's Government to other countries;
(4) how many complaints have been received from British citizens who have travelled abroad concerning information about them supplied by Her Majesty's Government to other Governments.
§ Mr. HurdTwo hon. Members have forwarded representations from the Troops Out movement claiming that one of its members was detained and removed from the United States of America on the basis of information provided by the Government. I am not prepared to comment on particular arrangements for exchanging information with other Governments or on individual cases. Apart from these representations, we are not aware of any other complaints about information supplied to other Governments.
The Troops Out movement also expressed concern about the effect, as regards the exchange of information, of the United Kingdom's ratifying the European convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters. Legislation would be required before the United Kingdom could accede to this convention, the purpose of which is to enable one state to assist another in the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences. It is a precondition of 36W such assistance that criminal proceedings should be pending in the requesting state, or that initial investigations should have begun with a reasonable expectation that such proceedings will ensue.