Brexit news: France trying to block UK access to crucial EU crime database
GETTY France is blocking UK access to an EU database after Brexit
British ministers have said there is a “clear national interest” in the UK keeping access to the Prum Convention. The system allows countries to share information such as DNA, fingerprints, and vehicle registration details in the pursuit of criminals. But according to one government figure, France is being “awkward” in the negotiations. Speaking to the Times, the government source said: “Normally France is quite helpful when it comes to security co-operation, but on this they are being awkward.”
Other countries such as Germany are apparently open to the idea of Britain continuing access to the database. But French authorities are asking that the decision is referred to the European Commission. The UK is also asking for access to the European Criminal Records Information Exchange System and the Schengen Information System (SIS) in its continued fight against international crime and terror. British police carried out 539 million checks with SIS last year.
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Speaking at a Parliamentary meeting, Director of Intelligence at the National Crime Agency, Steve Smart, said: "The impact of losing access to those datasets mean more bad people will get into the UK and it will be harder for us to find them and deal with them.” A Metropolitan Police representative agreed and said that EU data helps forces “understand where the threat is” in the UK. Deputy commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, Richard Martin, said: “It is so important to have access to as much data as we can. “To track people, to track property, to understand where the threat is.
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