8 June 2022
Andrew Mitchell urges action on alleged Rwandan war crimes perpetrators

Andrew Mitchell calls on the Prime Minister to take urgent action on alleged Rwandan war crimes perpetrators who have been living freely in the UK for 16 years to ensure that what has so far been justice massively delayed will not be ultimately be justice denied.

Mr Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con)

Q2. The whole House will unite behind the Prime Minister on his determination to hold Ukrainian war criminals to account, but is he aware that there are five alleged Rwandan war crimes perpetrators living freely in the UK, who have been doing so now for 16 years and have neither been extradited nor put before the British courts under our existing laws? As he prepares to go to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Rwanda, will he look carefully at this issue, because it is bound to be raised with him? Will he reassure the House and the Rwandan Government that he takes these matters extremely seriously, and that what has so far been justice massively delayed for 16 years will not be grotesquely denied? (900309)

The Prime Minister (Boris Johnson)

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. He raises an issue on which the UK has campaigned for a long time, and no country is more committed than we are to bringing war criminals to justice. I know that my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has raised the subject recently with the International Criminal Court. However, as he knows—and I will certainly, of course, study the case and take it up appropriately—it is the subject of an ongoing investigation, and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on it further.

Hansard