Eleanor Garnier
Political Correspondent

The Prime Minister has hinted that he might look at tightening up bail rules so that passports can be seized more quickly.

David Cameron has been giving evidence to the Commons Liaison Committee where he was asked about the case of Siddhartha Dhar, the main suspect in the latest propaganda video by so-called Islamic State.

Mr Cameron said he would be "very happy to look carefully" at changing the law to allow police to seize passports when giving bail.

He said that "in this individual case his passport wasn't on him [Siddhartha Dhar] when he was arrested and he was already at the limit of how long he could be detained so the police couldn't legally hold him while his passport was sought. His home address was searched and had the passport been found it could have been seized but it wasn't found."

Mr Cameron went on to say that, "determining nationality, seizing passports being done more quickly I think is a very good idea so I'll happily look at those powers."

He told the committee that he'd "just come from a meeting of the National Security Council where we're looking at deporting foreign national offenders and illegal over-stayers and again this question comes up of about why we can't determine nationality and sometimes get hold of papers faster so I think in all these areas we need to do that."

The PM says the cost to household energy bills needs to be considered when approving future public subsidies for renewables. The current energy mix of gas, nuclear and renewables will more than help deliver the UK's carbon emission reduction targets, he suggests. The PM is then asked by Conservative MP Neil Parish about tidal power. He says there is a lot of potential but his enthusiasm is "reduced a little because the cost would be so high".

The PM says the UK is over-delivering in some areas but progress in others, in terms of carbon reduction, is harder. He says he wished the retail price of electric cars was lower, to make them more affordable, and renewable sources of energy for household heating was advancing more quickly. Angus MacNeil brings up the decision to abandon carbon capture and storage developments projects, saying "one hand of government didn't know what the other was doing". The PM says it was a collective decision taken by the cabinet, arguing that it is not as cost-effective as other technologies and the £1bn earmarked for the schemes could be better spent on flood defences and schools. 

The SNP's Angus MacNeil asks how the government's domestic energy policies will contribute to the worldwide climate agreement. The PM says the carbon emissions have fallen by 15% since 2010, funding for low carbon energy are being doubled and the UK is the first industrialised country to phase out coal-fired power stations. "We have been good to doing what we said we would", he says, adding that his government has a "very good record to speak of".

Mr Cameron denies that his hands are being tied by the Treasury when it comes to properly funding flood defences. He says the Labour government planned to cut capital spending on flood defences by 50% if they were re-elected in 2010 but the government he led had rejected this settlement and boosted investment instead. 

On flooding David Cameron acknowledges that the public "wants us to do more on flooding and we will do more". He insists that his ministerial team "is on it" and there has been a change in attitudes at the Environment Agency to focus on protection of human life and property. It was "ridiculous" that rivers were not being dredged in Somerset and this has now been addressed.

The Labour MP Huw Irranca-Davis says that the government's environmental policy has been criticised by business groups and campaigners as being uncertain and short-termist. But Mr Cameron says it is "total and utter nonsense" to suggest that the UK is backsliding on its environmental credentials, citing research suggesting that the UK is only second to Denmark in terms of meeting its commitments. He says that the UK's offshore wind market is the largest in the world and 97% of the solar panels in the UK have been installed since he became PM in 2010.

Mr Cameron says that "on any reasonable assessment", the government is meeting its carbon reduction and sustainability targets.   

Huw Irranca-Davis asks the PM if the Paris agreement has led him to reflect on the benefits of remaining within the EU. The PM says he agrees that it is positive to work with other countries to achieve "common goals", arguing that the UK is leading by example. 

The questioning now shifts to climate change with a question from Labour's Huw Irranca-Davies about the recent Paris agreement. Mr Cameron says he always believed there would be a deal but he was pleasantly surprised at how "comprehensive" it was, with a pledge to cap future temperature rises to 2 degree celsius and a review mechanism of this target. But he accepts that this agreement now needs to be fully implemented.

Mr Betts says the geographical dispersal of Syrian refugees needs to be looked at, contrasting how many refugees his Sheffield constituency is taking compared with Mr Cameron's Oxfordshire constituency. The PM says he wants councils across the country to come forward, insisting he believes that the proposed system is working well. 

The Commons bell rings again but Mr Tyrie says this does not herald another vote and the questioning should continue. In response to a question from Labour's Clive Betts, the PM encourages Syrian refugees who have moved to the UK to integrate as quickly as possible, saying they are entitled to work and "build a new life" for themselves. However, he says that central government cannot be expected to pay for every aspect of integration, saying there is a level of burden-sharing between central government, local councils and other public bodies. He says the UK is more than capable of taking in 20,000 refugees over five years.

David Cameron says it is "very difficult to give a guarantee" that the authorities will always stop people who want to do the country harm from getting through the net. Keith Vaz then brings up the case of the British national who reportedly featured in the latest propaganda video from so-called Islamic State, having fled to Syria while on bail for a terrorism-related offence. Mr Vaz asks whether the PM agrees with senior police officers calling for anyone on bail for such offences to have their passports seized. Mr Cameron says this and other measures should be looked at, including ensuring offenders who leave prison are on the Warnings Index and other security databases. 

Well that didn't take long... David Cameron returns to the committee room after the brief intermission, a smile on his face. Andrew Tyrie is already back in his place and Keith Vaz resumes his questions, saying there are concerns about "migrants masquerading as terrorists" and the use of false passports. The PM says the UK is doing it can to make sure its border controls are robust and says there has been a major breakthrough in recent months on EU nations sharing flight passenger records. 

The liaison committee takes a break while MPs vote in the House of Commons. The PM will be back shortly.

Labour MP Keith Vaz takes over the baton, joking that he is going to ask Mr Cameron some "nice questions" after Mr Tyrie's grilling. The chair of the home affairs committee praises the PM for meeting his target of welcoming 1,000 Syrian refugees by Christmas but ponders whether there was a last-minute burst of activity in December to meet the pledge. The PM says it wasn't all down to him and commends the work of government departments and local councils in putting the wheels in motion. Mr Vaz then presses the PM for his thoughts on Germany's policy on accepting migrants, given the negative publicity around the issue following the Cologne sex attacks. Mr Cameron says continental Europe faces particular problems and as he starts to expand on this, the division bill sounds to signal a vote in the Commons and the session breaks up temporarily. Mr Cameron declines to give his view on Angela Merkel's policy on refugees, saying he would leave German politicians to the German people.

The PM's rather tense exchange with Mr Tyrie comes to an end. Mr Cameron says he has to be "incredibly careful" about the intelligence the government shares with the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee. The PM says he believes that sensitive information should be "held as tightly as possible" because its release to MPs - even when they are security cleared - could led to "someone's death". Mr Tyrie believes that the PM has agreed to look at the issue again of the ISC's involvement although it is not clear that Mr Cameron agrees with him.