§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information about convictions of British citizens is passed to Interpol for dissemination to member countries for information; and whether such information is removed from Interpol after any fixed period of time.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe national central bureau of Interpol does not keep details of all criminal convictions. It will pass on information about convictions only when a specific request is made by a member country. The bureau will pass on the details which are requested, but these will only be supplied once it has been confirmed through fingerprint checks that the subject of the request and the subject of the conviction are the same person.
Member countries have also been made aware of the effect of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act on convictions in the United Kingdom. The bureau will keep a copy of the information which has been sent; this will normally be destroyed after seven years. The member country recieving the information will have its own rules for how long such information is retained.