Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
Social Media: Non-consensual Sexual Deepfakes
I welcome what the Secretary of State has said, and the robust encouragement that the Government have given Ofcom to act on this issue. When she considers Ofcom’s capacity to act, not just its willingness to do so, will she also consider whether injunctive-style relief ought to be available, so that…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 December 2025
6 contributions
Terminal Illness: Mental Health Support
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for opening the debate. I say this mostly for the benefit of those in the Public Gallery, but we are expecting votes in the main Chamber soon. If that happens, I will suspend the sitting and we will reconvene when the votes are complete. I call Jim Shannon.
Order. I am sorry to interrupt the Minister, but a Division has been called. I am very much in the Minister’s hands at this point, and I am conscious that there may be more he wishes to say. If he has only a minute or two of his speech remaining, I gather there will be several Divisions, so I do not…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 December 2025
Advanced Ceramics Industry: North Staffordshire
I will call Dr Allison Gardner to move the motion and then I will call the Minister to respond. I remind other Members who are present that they may make a speech only with the prior permission of both the Member in charge of the debate and the Minister; subject to the discretion of the Minister and…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 December 2025
5 contributions
Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor
I was worried when the hon. Gentleman was not on my list.
Order. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for opening the debate. I remind Members that they should stand if they wish to be called. Members can see the level of interest that there is in this debate. If everyone keeps their speeches to between three and four minutes, I hope we will get everybody i…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 December 2025
Criminal Court Reform
The Government deserve credit for taking seriously a serious report into a serious problem, but is it the Justice Secretary’s preference that the changes he has outlined to jury trial will be permanent or that they will recede when the problem of backlogs recedes? In relation to judges alone decidin…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 November 2025
China Espionage: Government Security Response
I welcome a great deal of what the Minister said in his statement. As I am sure he agrees, just as we know that China can simultaneously represent a national security threat and economic opportunity, China knows it too. That means that—even if it were not the right thing to do in and of itself, whic…
Commons
Debate
13 November 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
I am extremely grateful to the Minister for giving way, especially so early in his remarks. I apologise to him and to the House for not being here for his opening remarks, which he has just mentioned. In them, he talked a little about Government amendments (a) and (b) in lieu of Lords amendment 31. …
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
Public Office (Accountability) Bill
I recognise the strength of the case that the Prime Minister is making. He will understand the interest that the Intelligence and Security Committee has in clause 6 of the Bill, which provides for certain exemptions for those who work for the intelligence agencies. It then says that those people sho…
Commons
Proceedings
20 October 2025
Alleged Spying Case: Home Office Involvement
I first of all thank the Minister for what he said about co-operation with the work of the Intelligence and Security Committee on this matter. I agree with him, as I often do, that the Government are entitled to clarity about what the question they are being asked is. The question for me is not whet…
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
2 contributions
Official Secrets Act Case: Witness Statements
It is now clear that the Crown Prosecution Service asked the Government more than once, over more than a year, for some additional evidence on what the CPS considered to be the crucial question of whether China constituted a national security threat during the relevant period. It seems to me, having…
The first question was about why the deputy National Security Adviser included reference to economic opportunity in his statement when he knew that that was not the question he was being asked, nor the relevant question.
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 October 2025
6 contributions
Criminal Courts: Independent Review
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts: Part 1.
It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. Despite the title of this debate—which I will immediately concede is less than exciting—it focuses on a serious problem with sign…
I understand the point the hon. Lady is making, and to be fair to Sir Brian, he is not suggesting that we remove jury trial in all cases; he is very much talking about a subset of cases in which he thinks it is worth restricting that right. However, she is right that we must balance the clear advant…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 October 2025
Security Update: Official Secrets Act Case
The Minister has told us that his Government’s assessment of China is a mixture of national security threats and opportunities for engagement, including economically, but does he accept that that is exactly the assessment made by the last Government? That combination, with reference to the Act and t…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
Transport: Economic Growth
Economic growth is, of course, one of the stated aims of the High Speed 2 project, but the Secretary of State knows well that it has adverse effects on communities along the line of construction. She knows also that those communities need to make plans for land that will be made available to them wh…
Commons
Debate
9 September 2025
12 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
It is a privilege to follow the hon. Member for Crawley (Peter Lamb). I admire his principles and his persistence in his advocacy for his Chagossian constituents, and I know that he would recognise that his predecessor did the same.
There is no dispute that Diego Garcia is crucial to the UK’s secur…
I understand the point that my hon. Friend makes, and it is reinforced by the point made by our hon. Friend the Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin) in reading from the agreement as to how any disputes are resolved. But I want to focus on the position now and the legal justificati…
+10 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
9 September 2025
Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack
I welcome the Minister to his new responsibilities, and on behalf of the many JLR employees in my constituency, welcome anything the Government can and will do to get JLR back to business as usual as soon as possible. On our broader defences, the Computer Misuse Act 1990 is 35 years old, and there a…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 September 2025
3 contributions
Indefinite Leave to Remain
Order. I do not need to point out that this is a very popular debate. I remind hon. Members that if they wish to be called to speak, they should please stand. To give you an indication, something like four minutes each should allow us to get everybody in, given the numbers who wish to speak, so plea…
Order. This is just a gentle reminder that we are aiming for four minutes. I will not impose a formal time limit unless I have to, but it would help if we could keep close to four minutes.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 September 2025
Covid-19 Vaccination Harm
I congratulate my hon. Friend not just on securing this debate, but on all the work he has done on this subject. He knows that he and I and our right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Esther McVey) and others have been raising it for many years now. He also knows that the Secretary of State has sai…
Commons
Oral Questions
15 July 2025
Clean Energy: Supply
The Minister will recognise that one way to increase the supply of clean energy is to enable community energy projects to supply local energy markets. When Ministers are asked about that, as he knows they have been many times, they generally say that there is no technical obstacle to it happening, b…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
8 July 2025
Road and Rail Projects
The Secretary of State has made reference to those areas of the country that wanted transport infrastructure projects and have not got them. May I ask her to spare a thought for those places that have got transport infrastructure projects that they do not want? She knows that High Speed 2 passes thr…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 July 2025
3 contributions
Down’s Syndrome Regression Disorder
I remind all colleagues that they should continue to stand if they wish to be called.
Three Back Benchers are seeking to speak. I hope it will assist colleagues if I say that I intend to start calling Front Benchers at about 5.08 pm.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 July 2025
3 contributions
Generative Artificial Intelligence: Schools
Order. That was either several interventions or a speech, neither of which is permissible. I urge all participants to keep interventions brief.
For the assistance of Hansard , I point out that the right hon. Gentleman was holding up a pen and paper.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
26 June 2025
5 contributions
BBC World Service Funding
We will start a minute or so early because, as everyone will appreciate, there are a lot of potential speakers and I want to give everyone maximum opportunity to get in. To ensure that no one is disadvantaged by our starting early, let me make it clear that I will also call those who arrive from 3.1…
Order. I remind Members that if they wish to speak they should continue to bob so I can see that they do. If we are going to get everybody in, people will need to restrict themselves to about three minutes, but I am loath to impose a formal time limit. I call Sir John Whittingdale.
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
24 June 2025
National Security Strategy
The right hon. Gentleman’s long experience will tell him that sometimes in government the grander the language the less significant the actual announcement. But if on this occasion—I am perfectly prepared to accept that this is so—the Government are making a serious effort to redraw the boundaries o…
Commons
Debate
20 June 2025
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
It is a privilege to follow the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Maureen Burke) and many others who have given brave testimony of their own personal experience in this matter. I join the tributes to the hon. Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater), who I think has conducted herself with decency, …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 June 2025
HS2 Reset
The Secretary of State knows that HS2 runs through my constituency, and she will accept that what makes my constituents particularly angry about what she has described is that HS2 has pinched every penny in compensating someone unfortunate enough to find themselves in the path of this railway, yet w…