§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he has received on the compatibility of the prosecution for bearing false documents of asylum seekers in transit with Article 31 of the 1951 UN Convention relating to the status of refugees. [89717]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe details of the advice I receive from my officials are confidential, but I am advised that prosecution in these circumstances is not necessarily incompatible with the United Kingdom's obligations under Article 31. However, a decision about whether or not to prosecute in a particular case is entirely a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service.