Tag: overseas territories

Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham supports citizenship amendment on behalf of the Bishop of St Albans

On 12th June 2023, during a committee debate on the Illegal Migration Bill, the Bishop of Durham spoke in support of amendment 98I, tabled by Baroness Brinton and the Bishop of St Albans, which would seek to limit the effects of the bill on those holding or those entitled to British National Overseas Citizenship, with particular reference to people from Hong Kong:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, for tabling Amendment 98I, and I thank Amnesty International and the Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens for their steadfast support for those who wish to register as British citizens. My friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, who added his name, was here earlier in the day but was unable to stay through to the evening.

This amendment aims to tackle a matter of great significance that affects the lives of many individuals residing in the UK under British national overseas visas. They include many people from Hong Kong who are rightly entitled to British citizenship but face serious uncertainty about their legal status. Many Hong Kongers have reported appalling responses from immigration officials regarding their children born here, being told that they cannot have any travel documentation and even querying whether they are allowed to become British citizens in the future.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about money laundering in British overseas territories

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on financial fraud and money laundering in British Overseas territories during a debate on the scale of money laundering in the UK on 13th January 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in last year’s parliamentary debate on the Church Action for Tax Justice report Tax for the Common Good, the Minister assured us that progress was being made on reducing money laundering and financial fraud in our British Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies. Would he be able to update the House on this? If he cannot do so now, would he please write to me with information on the progress we are making?

Lord Agnew of Oulton (Con, Treasury): It is important to remind the House that the overseas territories are independent entities and that we cannot just force them to comply with our own regulations. But we have an ongoing dialogue with them. For example, we have a very useful exchange of information through the exchange of notes arrangements, and they have agreed to introduce publicly accessible registers of companies’ beneficial ownership. The discussions are very much ongoing and I respect the right reverend Prelate’s concern.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about offshore tax havens in British Overseas Territories

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the use of British Overseas Territories as tax havens on 24th November 2021, during a debate on prevention of money laundering:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, earlier this year we held a debate on the Church Action for Tax Justice report Tax for the Common Good. When we discussed British Overseas Territories, we looked at the whole issue of tax havens and were assured that this was being addressed, yet the latest Pandora papers reveal that they are still used by shell companies to hide property sales and to avoid tax. Would the Minister agree that, since we are responsible for the defence of these territories, they have a duty to stop siphoning this money off from the UK?

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