FCO response on College of Policing overseas work "totally inadequate"

• Letter from Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, Foreign Secretary (PDF 43KB)
• Inquiry: College of Policing
• Home Affairs Committee

Following evidence from Alex Marshall, Chief Executive of the College of Policing on 19 April, the Home Affairs Select Committee wrote to the Foreign Office asking for details of the terms and monetary value of the College of Policing's (CoP) contracts with overseas regimes such as Saudi Arabia. These contracts form a significant portion of the CoP's income.

Chair's comment

Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, said:

"This reply from the FCO is totally inadequate. They are hiding matters in the public interest behind a veil of "commercial sensitivity", while the College of Policing told us it was an issue of "security".

More than a third of College of Policing income comes from work with police forces overseas and the public have the right to know on what terms we are conducting this work.

There can be no implications for "security" of making public the value of a completed contract, especially as the College of Policing itself has been put under immense pressure by the Home Office to raise revenue. Parliament's scrutiny work should not be hamstrung by the lack of transparency on public spending by some foreign regimes."

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

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