Mr Speaker, may I associate myself entirely with your remarks about Her late Majesty?
The illicit finance summit will convene a coalition of international partners to scale up global enforcement against illicit finance. The summit will forge new partnerships to combat this shared threat, including illicit gold, money laundering in the property sector and the abuse of cryptoassets. The summit builds on our long-term commitment to this agenda, which is also shown in the 2025 UK anti-corruption strategy, and will complement our upcoming presidency of the Financial Action Task Force and other meetings.
The summit is an opportunity for global action on the dirty money that flows through our financial systems, but the Foreign Secretary might rightly be asked by our international partners why overseas territories, who fly our flag and have our King as their Head of State, are preventing transparency and accountability for billions of pounds of illicit finance. Britain should be a world leader in tackling dirty money, but we have to get our house in order. Can the Minister assure the House and our international partners that he will bring overseas territories into line, and can he outline which of his powers he will use to do so?
The hon. Member will know from my previous answers in this place how seriously I take this issue. Our commitment across the whole of our British family on these matters is very clear. I have been working closely with leaders of the overseas territories. We have seen some important progress from a number of them, but a number have not gone far enough; I have been very frank with them about that. We are working in partnership and providing technical advice and support, and I am very hopeful that we will achieve progress, particularly on legitimate interest access to beneficial registers of ownership.
2. What discussions she has had with international counterparts on the adequacy of safeguards governing Interpol red notices issued in respect of British citizens.
The UK is a strong advocate for Interpol, recognising its critical function in supporting international law enforcement co-operation. We also support its ongoing reform programme to ensure there is no space for states to wilfully misuse its systems. The UK is represented at Interpol meetings, where the adequacy of its systems are discussed, and where we work with like-minded partners to enhance safeguards against abuse.
My constituent Ollie Bennett is wanted by Interpol for an alleged crime in Morocco three decades ago. Ollie has always maintained his innocence, and following a debate in this place, his crewmate was granted a full royal pardon for the same charges. Ollie, however, was not. In December, he was arrested and detained in a French police cell. Although he is now safely home, Ollie remains at risk of arrest each and every time he goes abroad. The irony is that the Moroccan authorities have never filed to extradite Ollie, yet a Moroccan-sponsored Interpol red notice for Ollie remains active. Will the Minister commit to meeting me, to ensure that Ollie can access the support that he needs to successfully appeal this red notice and finally end this 30-year-long groundhog day?
My hon. Friend is a committed advocate for his constituents. I would be very happy to meet him. As he will know, it is a matter of long-standing policy and practice that the UK can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an Interpol alert in a public forum, to protect legitimate criminal justice inquiries, but I would be delighted to meet him.
The Government recently informed me that they have received 64 category 2 type B extradition notices under section 70 of the Extradition Act 2003, of which 56 have been certified. Fewer than five of those come from Bangladesh. Can the Minister confirm how many of those relate to Members of this House, and whether there are any Interpol red notices that apply to Members of this House?
The hon. Member will have heard the point I just made: it is a matter of long-standing policy and practice that we do not confirm Interpol notices in public.
Mr Paul Foster (South Ribble) (Lab)
LabourSouth Ribble
21. What diplomatic steps her Department is taking to oppose the expansion of illegal settlements in the west bank.
Mr Speaker, may I join the tributes to Her late Majesty the Queen?
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that over 2,500 Palestinians have been displaced by evictions, settler violence and demolitions this year alone. The UK is clear that Israeli illegal settlements and decisions designed to further them are a flagrant violation of international law. Our position is clear and unequivocal: the Israeli Government must stop the expansion of settlements, stop the threats of forcible displacement and annexation, and stop the unacceptable levels of settler violence.
Does the Foreign Secretary agree that a full ban on all forms of trade and economic activity with those illegal settlements it long overdue, so that UK businesses, the public sector and charities are prevented from having any dealings with them?
My hon. Friend will know that goods from illegal settlements are already not entitled to tariff preferences under the UK-Israel agreement, or the agreement with the Palestinian Authority. We are deeply concerned about reports of the decision to establish 34 new settlements, which would be added to the 68 settlements established since the Netanyahu Government came to office, and by the E1 settlement proposals, which are completely wrong. We will continue to work with our partners internationally to keep pressure on the Israeli Government on this issue.
Tariff preferences are one thing, and I know we cannot solve this problem alone, but we must do whatever we can to put pressure on the Israeli Government to stop. The Israeli Government are using the fog of war in Iran to make a Palestinian state unviable by an expansion of these settlements. What more do they have to do before we take action and ban settlement trade?