§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he received regarding Augusto Pinochet prior to his arrival in the United Kingdom for his current visit; and when he received such representations. [56234]
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requests his Department received for Augusto Pinochet to be interviewed; when he received such requests; and what factors he will take into account in responding to such requests. [56263]
§ Mr. StrawRequests made by judicial and law enforcement authorities overseas for persons in the United Kingdom to be interviewed on a voluntary basis in connection with criminal investigations or proceedings are made through the United Kingdom Central Bureau of Interpol (Interpol London) at the National Criminal Intelligence Service and executed directly by the police or other law enforcement agencies. Where such requests are made directly to the Home Office they are referred to the police to execute.
The 5th Central Magistrate's Court in Madrid contacted the Metropolitan Police via Interpol on 14 October.
Requests made by courts overseas for statements to be made on oath or to be conducted before a judicial authority in England and Wales are made directly or indirectly to the Home Office. The Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, nominate a court in England and Wales under section 4 of the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 to receive such of the evidence requested as the court considers appropriate for the purpose of executing the request.
On 19 October, Interpol London received a request for Augusto Pinochet to make a statement. The request was made under the 1959 European Convention for Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, for which the Home Secretary is the designated United Kingdom Central Authority.
As the Secretary of State I will consider whether the request is for evidence to be taken before a court in England and Wales and one for which the exercise of his powers under section 4 of the 1990 Act would be 124W appropriate. If the Secretary of State considers the request is not one for which the nomination of the court would be appropriate, or the requesting authority clarifies that a voluntary statement would be sufficient for its purpose, the request will be passed to the Metropolitan Police to execute.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times Augusto Pinochet visited the United Kingdom since 1 May 1997, prior to his present visit; and when he was notified of each such visit. [56237]
§ Mr. StrawIn reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 22 October 1998,Official Report, column 1206 about visits made by Senator Pinochet to the United Kingdom in the last five years, I explained that I understood that there had been five such visits, including the current only. I set out the dates on which I understood he had made the other four visits as: February and June 1994; October 1995; and October 1996. In answering the question, I took account of all the information available within my Department at the time.
I regret that it is now clear that, although my answer properly reflected my—and my Department's— understanding of Senator Pinochet's visits to the United Kingdom during the period in question, it did not take account of one further visit made by Senator Pinochet in the period since 1 May 1997, which had not been brought to the attention of the Home Office. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to clarify the position for the benefit of the House.
I can confirm that Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have, since my answer, informed officials in the Home Office that, in addition to those visits made prior to 1 May 1997 of which the Home Office had been made aware, Senator Pinochet had also visited the United Kingdom in September 1997. There is, however, no Home Office record of that visit. A landing card should have been completed, as for any other visit, but these are not retained by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in the case of routine visits.
Had I been aware of this visit I would, of course, have included a reference to it in my reply to the earlier question.
I have written to my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North to express my regret for this inaccuracy. A copy of my letter has been place in the Library.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has made concerning Augusto Pinochet; and when he made them. [56271]
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he was notified of the intention of Augusto Pinochet to travel to the United Kingdom to make his current visit. [56236]
§ Mr. StrawNeither I nor my Department was notified in advance of Senator Pinochet's intention to travel to the United Kingdom. As a Chilean national, Senator Pinochet does not require a visa to visit the United Kingdom.
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§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take in respect of the proposed extradition of Augusto Pinochet. [56265]
§ Mr. StrawI refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick), on 22 October 1998,Official Report, column 1205.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he received from the Spanish authorities on the possible issue of a warrant for the arrest of Augusto Pinochet prior to the issue of such a warrant; and when. [56853]
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he was informed of Augusto Pinochet's planned date of departure from the United Kingdom on his most recent visit; and if he passed that information to(a) the authorities of another country and (b) another body. [56854]
§ Mr. StrawI was not informed of Senator Pinochet's planned date of departure from the United Kingdom on his most recent visit.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the public statements made by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry concerning the arrest of General Pinochet in London represent Government policy. [56694]
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Date The Home Secretary met: 20 June 1997 John Howard, Australian Prime Minister 24 June 1997 The Hon. Jan Wade MP, Victoria State Attorney General 11 September 1997 Bangladeshi Foreign Minister 25 September 1997 Luxembourg Minister of Justice 3 November 1997 Mauritius Prime Minister 1 December 1997 Jose Maria Gil-Robles, President of European Parliament 8 December 1997 Frank Jensen, Danish Minister of Justice 18 December 1997 Georges Romeos, Greek Public Order (Security) Minister 20 January 1998 Istrvan Nikolits, Hungarian Security Minister 4 March 1998 Gustav Krajci, Slovak Interior Minister 7 April 1998 Mme Guigou, French Minister of Justice 7 April 1998 Canadian Minister, Andy Scott 11 May 1998 Major Rafiqul Islam, Bangladeshi Minister for Home Affairs 11 June 1998 Wong Kan Seng, Singaporean Minister for Home Affairs 18 June 1998 Russian Interior Minister, Sergei Stepashin 17 September 1998 Bahrain Minister of the Interior 14 October 1998 President Zedillo, Mexico 20 October 1998 Jan Kavan, Czech Foreign Minister Alun Michael met 3 June 1997 Dr. Nsinela, South African Minister of Justice 13 August 1997 Mr. Foss, The Attorney General, Australia 7 April 1998 Mme Guigou, French Minister of Justice 16 June 1998 Nelson Mandela 10 July 1998 Frank Fahy, Irish Minister for Health 24 August 1998 Paul Varul, Estonian Justice Minister
§ Mr. StrawThe arrest of Senator Pinochet is not a matter of Government policy. The decision to issue a provisional warrant is for the Bow Street Magistrate, under section 8(1)(b) of the Extradition Act 1989, in response to a request from an extradition partner.