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<p>My Department continues to work closely with operational partners and engage with
EU Member States to prepare for our departure from the EU in October. If necessary,
we will be ready to transition our cooperation with EU Member States to alternative,
non-EU arrangements where available. Broadly speaking, this would mean making more
use of Interpol, Council of Europe instruments and other forms of co-operation with
European partners, such as bilateral channels. In a no deal scenario requests for
criminal records information would be facilitated under the 1959 Council of Europe
Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance. The 1959 Convention is already used as the
basis for exchange with a number of other countries.</p><p> </p><p>As regards SIS
II, we will be able to continue to cooperate through pre-existing bilateral channels
or Interpol, as was the case before 2015 when the UK connected to SIS II.Whilst these
alternative arrangements are not like-for-like replacements, they are tried and tested
mechanisms that we already use for cooperating with many non-EU countries. The UK
will continue to be one of the safest countries in the world in the event of no deal.</p>
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