Written question asked by Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party) on Monday, 13 September 2021, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 16 September 2021 (named day). It was answered by Amanda Milling (Conservative) on Thursday, 16 September 2021 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Sri Lanka: Police Scotland

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a copy of the letter sent from Police Scotland's ACC Gary Ritchie to the British High Commission in Colombo on 28 May 2021 on the decision to pause activities with Sri Lanka police.

Answer: The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has no plans to publish this correspondence. The UK's police training programme has focused on developing community policing, supporting women in the Sri Lankan police service, and improving the response to sexual and gender-based violence. All UK assistance is subject to robust Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) assessments that analyse the potential human rights, international humanitarian law, political and reputational risks of any proposed assistance to ensure that it supports our values and is consistent with our domestic and international human rights obligations. Our police training is currently undergoing a review. Police Scotland officers have not travelled to Sri Lanka since the start of the coronavirus pandemic for public health reasons. More information on our programme work can be found online.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 48369
Session: 2021-22
Subjects: Disclosure of information Police Sri Lanka Training Police Scotland
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk