Home Secretary visits Spain and Germany
Sajid Javid used the visits to call for continued security co-operation.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid this week (25 and 26 September) visited Spain and Germany where he stressed the need for continued co-operation with European partners on security issues.
Speaking at EFE press in Madrid, the Home Secretary told an audience of journalists and parliamentarians that the UK and Spain had a shared history of fighting terrorism and that it needs to be as strong and as effective once the UK leaves the EU.
In a meeting with his Spanish counterpart Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, they both agreed that the close relationship between the countries must continue.
The Home Secretary also paid tribute to those who had been victims of terror at the Garden of Remembrance in Madrid where he had the opportunity to meet with the parents of Ignacio Echeverría, a Spanish national who died in the 2017 London Bridge attack and who was posthumously awarded the George Medal for his bravery.
In Germany, the Home Secretary met with leading German government officials and opinion formers at a policy meeting at the not-for-profit think tank Körber Stiftung to discuss the future security partnership.
He also discussed the issue with Interior Minister Horst Seehofer in a meeting that also covered co-operation on migration and serious organised crime.
The systems and rules to facilitate a continued strong security relationship between the UK and Germany were the focus of talks with the President of the German Bundespolizei Dieter Romann. To conclude his visit, Sajid Javid spoke about the mutual value of close security co-operation with Bundesminister Helge Braun.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said:
My visits to Spain and Germany this week showed me once more how closely our countries work together to keep our citizens safe.
We face many of the same threats from terrorism, serious organised crime and hostile states.
In my meetings with counterparts in both countries there was a shared belief that we must continue to work together because these threats do not respect our borders.