Lords
Proceedings
15 July 2026
National Shipbuilding Strategy
Sir John Parker produced his report on national shipbuilding policy in 2017. It was adapted by the then Government, reviewed in 2022 and adopted by the incoming Labour Government. The Minister’s own department has made some progress towards ensuring that there is a throughput of work in UK shipyards…
Lords
Proceedings
7 July 2026
British Industry and Services: Public Procurement
My Lords, a central tenant of the UK’s national shipbuilding policy is that we have a drumbeat of orders through UK shipyards, recognising that 38p of every pound put in by the taxpayer comes back directly in tax and national insurance. Can my noble friend explain why the Department for Transport is…
Lords
Proceedings
25 June 2026
Waste Management Carriers: Regulation
My Lords, I have been talking rubbish for many years. This is not just a blight on people’s neighbourhoods but an environmental time bomb ticking away in many communities. It is also a driver of organised crime, with the money used for other nefarious activities. The last Government set up the Joint…
Lords
Proceedings
17 June 2026
Foreign Interference in UK Democratic Processes
My Lords, in its 2020 report on Russia, the ISC highlighted the malign influence of Russia and, more recently, in our report on Iran, we highlighted the use of the online space to sow division within our politics. Does my noble friend the Minister agree that we should condemn those politicians who r…
Lords
Proceedings
17 June 2026
State of Extremism Report
My Lords, my noble friend will recognise that an increasing number of the subjects of interest, in both the right-wing space and the Islamic space, being investigated by the security services are individuals under the age of 16. What more can be done to tackle the radicalisation of individuals, whic…
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
The DIP has a had a gestation period longer than an African elephant, and we are still no further forward. When they came into power, this Government said they were about growth, and a growth agenda for Britain. Does my noble friend agree with me that a growth agenda would be if we actually invested…
Lords
Proceedings
2 June 2026
Prostate Cancer Screening
My Lords, the problem with prostate cancer is that most men do not have symptoms; it was certainly like that in my case. The Minister said that wide screening would lead to worsening outcomes, but I am sorry: being alive is far better than the alternative. We will have a problem: in affluent communi…
Lords
Proceedings
19 May 2026
Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address
My Lords, the ISC was given a clear task to look at documents that were going to be released on the humble Address for national security and international relations harm. We have done that. We spent many hours doing it. I pay credit to the committee members for their hard work and thank in particula…
Lords
Proceedings
28 April 2026
Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update
My Lords, I rise to bring news from the front to your Lordships’ House. After another five-hour meeting today, the Intelligence and Security Committee, which I chair, has now completed reviewing all the documents that have been referred to it. I stress to the House that this has been a long process.…
Lords
Proceedings
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
My Lords, the humble Address that Parliament passed gave the Intelligence and Security Committee, which I chair, the responsibility to consider those documents that, if released, would affect national security or international relations. This February, we asked the Cabinet Office to prioritise all t…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
Fujitsu: Post Office Horizon Case
I share the frustrations my noble friend expresses. The Government are absolutely committed to ensuring that this inquiry takes place, and the findings will be published soon. As he will note, the first volume of the inquiry has been published, and it makes it clear that Fujitsu has an obligation to…
Lords
Debate
10 March 2026
Victims and Courts Bill
My Lords, I support my noble friend Lady Chakrabarti’s amendment. We discussed this in Committee. My involvement, like that of the noble Lord, Lord Arbuthnot, is through the experience of the Post Office Horizon scandal. In those cases, we saw computer evidence put before the court with the presumpt…
Lords
Proceedings
2 March 2026
Middle East
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for repeating the Statement. I also thank her, and through her the Government, for the intelligence brief I had this afternoon on the current situation. Clearly, President Trump and now His Majesty’s Opposition seem to have forgotten Secretary of State Colin Powell’…
Lords
Proceedings
24 February 2026
Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address
My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Finn, raised ISC staff. Their job, and that of the committee, was made incredibly difficult by the previous Conservative Government cutting the budget and interfering with the appointments to the committee. The committee met the Prime Minister last year. This was t…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Environment Agency: Waste Crime
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, on securing this debate and thank her both for her excellent leadership as the chair of the Environment and Climate Change Committee, of which I have the privilege to be a member, and for her comprehensive introduction to this topic. I also …
Lords
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Post Office Capture and Horizon Scandals
Again, I thank the noble Lord for his work overall on the Horizon and Capture scandals. While, again, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on a specific case, I can say that the Post Office was the original prosecutor in the criminal case on this specific Capture conviction—not this departmen…
Lords
Debate
11 February 2026
3 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
My Lords, I too support Amendment 61 in the name of my noble friend Lady Chakrabarti.
When I left my home in Durham on Monday morning, I had a phone call. It was from an individual I had met five years earlier. He was the husband of a postmistress in Northumberland who had been prosecuted by the Po…
I am not opposed to consultation, but, I am sorry, this Government are hiding behind consultation. Once the consultation is finished, we then need action, but that is not happening, not just in this area but in a whole host of other areas.
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Proceedings
26 January 2026
Chinese Embassy
My Lords, my noble friend, in her answer, referred to the ISC. The ISC has looked at this very closely. We were given access to all the confidential and sensitive documentation, and we took evidence from our security services and Ministers; I thank them for that. We came to the conclusion that Minis…
Lords
Debate
26 January 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
My Lords, my noble friend the Minister suggested that this agreement was supported by our Five Eyes partners, including the United States—the Secretary of State to the US made a statement to that effect. I know from briefings we have had in the ISC the important nature of this base for us, the Unite…
Lords
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
As a former member of the Intelligence and Security Committee myself, I would want to see that the committee is kept fully informed. My noble friend will know that Jonathan Hall KC is currently undertaking a review of legislation in this sphere, at the request of the current Government. That is expe…
Lords
Debate
12 January 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
My Lords, I will just come back to the issue of the environment, which is crucial here. I have a direct question to the Minister, whom I particularly respect in this area. Why on earth was there not a clear connection between our payments and the upkeep of this, the most important marine environment…
Lords
Oral Questions
7 January 2026
Venezuela
Yes, I do agree with my noble friend on that.
Lords
Oral Questions
18 December 2025
Lithuania: Balloon Incursions
I join my noble friend in his congratulations and recognition of our serving Armed Forces personnel and their families who stand behind them. It is important to recognise that, particularly at this time of the year, as my noble friend has just done. I am sure that the whole House joins him in that.
…
Lords
Proceedings
16 December 2025
US National Security Strategy
My Lords, last week the US Congress, on a bipartisan basis, passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed by the President on Thursday night. That Act commits US troops to Europe, highlights that it sees Russia as a threat not only to Europe but to the United States, and commits th…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 December 2025
United States: Intelligence Sharing
I am grateful to my noble friend for reminding me of my time on the Intelligence and Security Committee, and I am grateful to him for his work chairing it now. He has articulated the principles of information sharing. He will understand that I cannot comment on the details of intelligence sharing, b…