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Select committee inquiry

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s preparations for the World Cup inquiry

Closed

Foreign Affairs Committee · Opened 1 May 2018 · Closed 6 September 2018

11 conclusions
Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

What the inquiry looked at

“The 2018 FIFA World Cup was held in Russia between 14 June and 15 July. Ten thousand England fans were expected to attend, with matches in Volgograd, Kaliningrad and Nizhny Novgorod. The Foreign Affairs Committee launched an inquiry into the FCO’s preparations for the World Cup, in light of the UK’s reduced diplomatic presence in Russia following the Salisbury incident, and previous clashes between English and Russian football fans. The inquiry examined the FCO’s role in cross-government preparations for the tournament, and the impact of recent heightened tensions between the UK and Russia. Report: The FCO’s preparations for the 2018 World Cup Report: The FCO’s preparations for the 2018 World Cup (PDF) Government Response: The FCO’s preparations for the 2018 World Cup Government Response: The FCO’s preparations for the 2018 World Cup (PDF)”

The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.

What it found

In the committee's words, from the summary of 9th Report - The FCO's preparations for the 2018 World Cup ↗

Up to 10,000 UK nationals are expected to travel to the World Cup in Russia. Those fans face a number of risks, including hooligan violence; attacks motivated by racism, homophobia or anti-British sentiment; and terrorist attacks. The threat of violence has been a “specific focus” for the FCO’s preparations. Despite an “unprecedented crackdown” on hooligan groups, we were told that the Russian authorities could not control those hooligans who operate at the margins. BAME and LGBT football fans face heightened risks.

The FCO considers the risks to fall short of the level at which it would be appropriate to advise against travel to the World Cup, but said that it would recommend not travelling if fans’ safety could not be guaranteed. We remain concerned about the safety of UK fans travelling to Russia—particularly in light of the expulsion of officials involved in the preparations—and call on the FCO to provide the information needed for people to make an informed decision about whether to go. Given the current volatility it is particularly important that the Government can communicate with UK fans during the tournament to give up-to-date advice. The numbers subscribed to the FCO’s travel advice seem worryingly low and, although there is now little time to do so, we urge the FCO to take additional steps to encourage UK fans to sign up for travel alerts.

The FCO has been leading cross-governmental preparations for the World Cup for more than two years and the Football Association told us it was “really pleased” with those preparations. We recognise the work of all those involved and we note the testimony that there will be additional consular support and rigorous security measures in place on match days in cities where England plays. However, we are particularly concerned about the safety of UK fans outside these times and places and call on the FCO to do more to make fans aware of the distinction between arrangements in place on match and non-match days and in England and non-England match cities.

There are limits to what the FCO can tell us about some of its concerns and preparations before the tournament. Following the World Cup, the FCO should report back to us by the end of September, setting out lessons learned. We regret that the World Cup is hosted by countries with poor human rights records. We also ask for the FCO’s report to set out how effectively FIFA’s new human rights conditions are operating and what further steps are needed.

What the government said

The government responded on 6 September 2018.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response.

The government sets out how the FCO prepared for and handled the World Cup, stating that its consular operation was a success and that it "disagree[s] strongly" with Russia on LGBT+ rights.

  • On LGBT+ rights, the government says it "disagree[s] strongly with the Russian government" and "will continue to raise our concerns directly with them".
  • On diplomatic expulsions, it says they "made our preparations more challenging" but that it "was able to manage this situation", helped by staff deployed from the UK and across the network.
  • On travel alerts, it says numbers subscribed to e-mail alerts for Russia rose to 11,674 as at 31 May 2018, and that the "Be on the Ball" page was updated with specific information for LGBT+, BAME and disabled fans.
  • On future World Cups, it notes FIFA's changes, including a human rights strategy in bids, but states that "the FCO does not have responsibility for policy towards FIFA" and points to DCMS.

Read the government's response ↗ Read the report ↗ Report an error

How the inquiry ran

Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 1 May 2018 to its close on 6 September 2018.

  1. Oral evidence 2 sessions
  2. Report 8 Jun 2018
  3. Government response 6 Sep 2018

What it recommended 0 recommendations · 11 conclusions

The committee's own words. Open an item to read it in full.

1Russia presents particular risks as a World Cup host, due to the history of violence...
Concluded (the committee's words)
Russia presents particular risks as a World Cup host, due to the history of violence by football hooligans; intolerance and discriminatory state policy towards LGBT individuals; the history of racist abuse in and around football matches; current heightened political tensions; and the threat of terrorist attacks. We remain concerned about the safety of UK fans travelling to Russia, and the apparent lack of specific provisions to protect targeted groups, particularly LGBT football fans.
2The Committee calls on the FCO to set out, clearly and publicly, the specific assurances...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Committee calls on the FCO to set out, clearly and publicly, the specific assurances it has received from the Russian authorities on the safety of LGBT fans, including on how the “anti-propaganda” law will be applied to foreign visitors, so that fans can make an informed decision based on the level of risk to which they will be exposed. LGBT fans should have as much information as possible on the extent to which they can expect to be safe if, for example, flying the rainbow flag, engaging in public displays of affection, or using bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity.
3We note the evidence of the preparations for the World Cup that the FCO has...
Concluded (the committee's words)
We note the evidence of the preparations for the World Cup that the FCO has been making over the last two years, and the testimony that UK-Russian co-operation on this point has been continuing post-Salisbury. We recognise the work of officials and others involved in these preparations, particularly those diplomatic staff who have remained in Russia following the expulsions and their colleagues who had to leave as a result of those expulsions. We believe it was wrong for the Russian government to expel British diplomats, particularly the officials leading on preparations and the safety of fans for the World Cup, and remain concerned that this will have hindered preparations and could put the safety of British fans at risk.
4We have been told that there will be rigorous security measures and consular support in...
Concluded (the committee's words)
We have been told that there will be rigorous security measures and consular support in place in cities where England plays, on match days, particularly within stadiums and official fan zones, and we look forward to seeing this happen. We are, however, concerned about the safety of UK fans outside these times and places, particularly those travelling to matches in which England is not participating. In addition, while reasonably extensive preparations have been made for the first three England matches, we are concerned that preparations for any subsequent matches will be more rushed.
5The FCO should do more to make fans aware of the distinction between arrangements that...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The FCO should do more to make fans aware of the distinction between arrangements that will be in place on match and non-match days, and in England and non-England match cities.
6We welcome declarations by the FCO and other witnesses that they have received adequate reassurances...
Concluded (the committee's words)
We welcome declarations by the FCO and other witnesses that they have received adequate reassurances on Russia’s commitment to keep fans safe. However, in our view these reassurances are undermined by: 20 The FCO’s preparations for the 2018 World Cup (i) Russia’s decision to expel UK officials working on World Cup preparations; (ii) Supportive attitudes on the part of some Russian politicians towards previous hooligan violence; (iii) The advice of Russian civil society groups not to trust the government’s reassurances on LGBT issues; and, (iv) The present volatility of UK-Russian relations.
7The FCO told us that it would advise UK nationals not to attend the World...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The FCO told us that it would advise UK nationals not to attend the World Cup if it could not guarantee their safety. Given the volatile state of UK-Russia relations, and the fact that the FCO’s assessment of Russian reactions to Salisbury is ongoing, it is particularly important that the Government can communicate with UK fans during the tournament. In the context of 150,000 UK citizens travelling to Russia annually, the fact that only 8,800 people are subscribed to the FCO’s travel advice seems worryingly low, and suggests that many fans intending to go to the World Cup do not receive the alerts.
8Given the volatility of the relationship and the nature of the Russian state, it is...
Concluded (the committee's words)
Given the volatility of the relationship and the nature of the Russian state, it is essential that, if the security situation deteriorates, the Government is prepared to act fast and decisively to advise fans against travel to the World Cup or to advise those in country to avoid a location, stay in their hotels, or even leave the country should the situation demand it. Although there is now little time to do so, the FCO should, as a matter of urgency, take additional steps to encourage UK fans to sign up for its travel alerts, so that it can keep as many fans as possible informed of any developments while they are in Russia. It should learn from this experience to ensure more people are subscribed to its travel alerts before future similar events.
9It is important that LGBT, BAME and other minority groups have all the necessary information...
Concluded (the committee's words)
It is important that LGBT, BAME and other minority groups have all the necessary information to make an informed decision on whether to attend the World Cup, how to stay safe while there, and what steps to take if they face intimidation or violence. Though the Government recognises the issue, we are concerned that their approach in this area has been overly complacent. While we welcome the FCO’s commitment, following our suggestions, to update the Be on the Ball website with warnings about the risks to LGBT and BAME individuals, not to have taken this step earlier means that the FCO has missed a trick.
10We recognise that the FCO is limited in what it can reveal publicly about its...
Concluded (the committee's words)
We recognise that the FCO is limited in what it can reveal publicly about its concerns, and about the levels of consular staffing, before the World Cup has concluded. Given these restrictions, the FCO should report back to us after the tournament has concluded. This report should cover its consular operations, police co-operation, and any challenges the FCO faced, as well as an assessment of how far Russia’s assurances were fulfilled in practice. It should also set out what it has learned from the tournament, to help inform preparations for future events. We ask the FCO to provide us with this information by the end of September.
11We regret that the World Cup is hosted by countries with poor human rights records,...
Concluded (the committee's words)
We regret that the World Cup is hosted by countries with poor human rights records, and which pose a heightened degree of risk to football fans. The FCO should monitor the selection process for the 2026 World Cup hosts, and report back to us its assessment of how effectively the new conditions have served to ensure that host countries respect human rights—including the rights of LGBT and BAME individuals. That report should also set out what further steps are needed to ensure that FIFA treats human rights considerations adequately; and how the FCO and other departments intend to feed back to FIFA on this point. We ask to receive this report by the end of September.

Evidence

Oral evidence sessions 2