Fears over prisons being ‘up for grabs’ by US corporations in post-Brexit deal

LONDON: The Justice Secretary has sought to downplay fears over prisons being “up for grabs” by US corporations in a post-Brexit trade deal.David Gauke was urged by Labour to guarantee that prisons would not be part of any agreement with the United States, amid complaints a similar question in the House of Lords was met with a “vague” answer. Gauke replied that he expects any deal with the US to be done in a way which protects public services.His remarks came after he again sounded no-deal Brexit warnings, having previously said he expects Parliament to find a way to block such an outcome. But laughter emerged in the Commons after Gauke claimed Conservative Party leadership hopefuls Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt have “made it clear” they want to avoid a no-deal Brexit.Speaking in the chamber, shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said a no-deal Brexit “poses a serious threat” to the justice system. He added: “I also fear no deal is a stepping stone to a free trade deal with the United States of America.“Labour’s justice spokesman in the Lords recently asked whether our prisons would be up for grabs by American corporations in any post-Brexit free trade deal with the United States. The government’s vague answer alarmed me. So will the Secretary of State clearly state today that our prisons should not be part of any post-Brexit free trade deal with the USA?”Gauke, in his reply, said: “It is the intention of this government, and I suspect the next government, to enter into a trade deal with the United States but we’d want to do so in a way that protects public services.”Earlier, Gauke said: “Leaving the EU without a deal risks some significant impacts across the justice system. That includes potential disruption to goods and services in our prisons, an increase in case load and case complexity across court jurisdictions placing increased pressure on our court system, the loss of access to several law enforcement tools including loss of data exchange tools — making it more difficult to protect the public — and market access impacts on our legal sector restricting or removing our ability to operate in EU markets. So do I think a no-deal Brexit is a good idea? No I don’t.”SNP justice spokeswoman Joanna Cherry said leaving without a deal would mean losing Europol membership, noting: “Because of data protection rules, that would mean not only would the police no longer have access to data held by Europol but information which Police Scotland has currently provided to Europol will be removed from Europol databases, thus prejudicing ongoing investigations.”She added: “Has he explained to them and does he agree with me it’s not acceptable for people in Scotland to have their safety so prejudiced?”Gauke agreed the loss of access to various law enforcement tools would “make it more difficult to protect the public”, adding he is sure there are ways such issues can be addressed “but a much better way forward would be to leave the European Union with a deal”.

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