§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to amend the jurisdiction of the British Transport Police in respect of matters outside their immediate operating areas. [117730]
§ Mr JamiesonThe current railways jurisdiction of the BTP is provided by the British Transport Commission Act 1949 that allows their officers to act as constables on certain railway property, in the vicinity of this property and elsewhere in matters connected with the railways. This jurisdiction will be replaced by proposals in the Railways and Transport Safety Bill, currently before Parliament, which provides for an officer of the BTP to have all the powers and privileges of a constable on key pieces of railway infrastructure and throughout Great Britain for a purpose connected to a railway or to anything occurring on or in relation to a railway.
The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 provides BTP officers with the powers and privileges of a constable outside the railways in certain urgent circumstances not related to the railways.