Downing Street Says

» Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Piracy

Asked if we were dispatching the Royal Navy to return to its historic role of sweeping the sea of pirates, the PMS replied that we had called for the immediate release of the two British crewmembers who were aboard the Sirius Star. Britain was playing its part, HMS Cumberland was on patrol as part of a NATO maritime force, and they recently detained a number of Somali pirates. We had ensured that the Navy had the means and authority to disrupt and deter acts of piracy, and we were introducing legislation to further strengthen the powers of the Armed Forces to detain ships and arrest suspects.

Asked for clarification on the legislation, the PMS replied that we committed to introducing legislation to further strengthen powers for the Armed Forces to detain ships and arrest suspects to prevent terrorist offences or piracy.

Asked how this would work, the PMS replied that he was not an expert on piracy legislation, but he was sure someone in the Home Office could help.

Asked if we would be sending more ships, the PMS replied that we were already playing our part, HMS Cumberland was on patrol as part of a NATO maritime force.

Asked to clarify that those powers would be national powers, and that we were not suggesting that we would lobby NATO to strengthen ships that had been deployed already, the PMS replied that all of these things had to be kept under review. We were prepared to play our part, and we were playing our part through the inclusion of HMS Cumberland on patrol as part of a NATO maritime force.

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