Lords to examine post-Brexit law enforcement with policing experts
Friday 30 October 2020
The House of Lords Security and Justice EU Sub-Committee will next week question policing experts on the cooperation between UK and EU law enforcement, and how this could be impacted post-Brexit.
This remote session will start at 10am on Tuesday 3 November and will be available to view live on Parliament TV.
Following on from last week’s session on sanctions collaboration, the Committee will move on to looking at the important issue of policing cooperation between the UK and EU. As part of the session, the committee will draw attention to statements made by Michael Gove that the UK could “cooperate more effectively” in areas over border security outside the EU than inside, exploring whether this is the case.
The witnesses will be:
- Sir Rob Wainwright KCMG, former Director of Europol
- Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Martin, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Lead for Brexit
Questions likely to be asked by the Committee include:
- What is the practical importance and daily use made by UK law enforcement of EU police cooperation measures?
- What will the policing landscape of the UK look like in January 2021 if there is no agreement?
- Are some EU policing measures more important than others to UK law enforcement? If so, which ones?
- What are the main challenges facing the UK police once EU measures are no longer available? How can these challenges be mitigated?
- Michael Gove MP told the Commons recently that the UK could “cooperate more effectively” in many areas over border security outside the EU than “we ever could inside”. Do you agree?
- What is your assessment of details of alternative policing plans that the Government have provided?
- To what extent has the Government consulted with you on: (i) the effectiveness and quality of its no-deal preparations; and, (ii) its readiness for a no-deal separation from EU police measures at the end of the year?
- What does a pragmatic agreement between the UK and EU on policing look like to you?
- How important is it that the EU and UK negotiate a replacement for the European Arrest Warrant?
- What will happen to UK law enforcement if the Government fails to secure both a data adequacy decision from the EU Commission and access to the EU’s criminal databases?
- The Government and the EU’s draft negotiating texts suggest that there is broad agreement on future cooperation with Europol and Eurojust on the basis of third country arrangements. Will this suffice?
