§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what official visits he, his ministers or officials have paid to Zimbabwe since May 1997; whom they met; and what was discussed. [73556]
§ Mr. StrawNo Ministerial visits have been paid to Zimbabwe over this period.
One official visited Zimbabwe in August 1998 to assess a penal report project which the Department for International Development (DFID) had funded. He met senior Government legal officers and staff from non-governmental organisations.
One official visited Harare in September 1997 and September and November 1998 to undertake carriers' liability training and made liaison visits to British Airways and Air Zimbabwe. Two Immigration Service officials paid similar visits to Air Zimbabwe in February 1999.
One official provided consultancy services to the Zimbabwe police in October 1998 in relation to record keeping.
One official is currently on a DFID-funded secondment to the Zimbabwe Police Department to review and advise on the collection of crime statistics in Zimbabwe.
In addition, two police officers, from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, were attached to the Zimbabwe fraud and anti-corruption unit from 18 April 1997 for 18 days.