London : Pakistani diplomats accused of rape and child abduction are among some of the most serious cases of foreign representatives committing crimes on UK soil in 2013, according to a list released by the British government.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) released the list of the serious alleged offences in 2013 which includes unnamed foreign officials, suspected of 14 crimes, who are protected from British law by diplomatic immunity.
The cases involving Pakistani diplomats were among the five extremely serious ones triggering a special investigation request, over-ruling diplomatic immunity.
The Foreign Office defines serious offences as those which would carry a sentence of more than 12 months if a conviction was secured. “The number of alleged serious crimes committed by members of the diplomatic community in the UK is proportionately low,” FCO minister Mark Simmonds said in Parliament on Tuesday.
“The FCO does not tolerate foreign diplomats breaking the law,” he added. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, those entitled to immunity are expected to obey the law, and if allegations are brought to light the relevant foreign government can be asked to rescind the privilege so they can be investigated.
But although Pakistan’s government partially lifted immunity in one case so the diplomat could be interviewed by police, there is no legal obligation to comply with the British request.
According to The Independent newspaper, two other among the five seriously implicated officials were voluntarily recalled, a fourth person was asked to leave the UK by the FCO and a case continues against the fifth.
Aditi Khanna
