Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
1 July 2026
Topical Questions
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that critical question for Britain’s creative sector. Just yesterday, on British IP Day, I met with the Alliance for Intellectual Property, including artists, authors, publishers, journalists and media organisations, to talk about how our work on digital replicas a…
Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
1 July 2026
3 contributions
Social Media: Dangerous Content
This Government have led the world in tackling dangerous content online, including in law with illegal content duties that platforms must comply with, with our full backing for Ofcom’s enforcement of them, and by strengthening the law, with cyber-flashing, intimate image abuse and self-harm content …
I first thank my hon. Friend for championing an incredibly important cause. Content promoting eating disorders is horrific, and I have to be clear that not just at the age of 16, but under the Online Safety Act 2023, platforms must already prevent children under the age of 18 from accessing content …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
1 July 2026
3 contributions
Ofcom: Crisis Response Protocol
Keeping people safe online at moments of real danger is a top priority for this Government. That is why we have asked Ofcom to expedite its work on updates to its codes of practice under the Online Safety Act 2023. All services face strict duties to deal with illegal content. Of course, it is right …
Do we want tougher accountability? Absolutely. That is why the codes published mean stronger review mechanisms, a direct line to law enforcement and a clear crisis playbook required of risky platforms. Do we want it to be faster? Absolutely. That is exactly why we have asked Ofcom to expedite those …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
8 June 2026
24 contributions
Digital Safety: Children
The Prime Minister has announced that this Government will take decisive action to strengthen children’s online safety, including new expectations on technology companies to introduce crucial safety measures on children’s phones. The Government are clear that children are facing unacceptable levels …
It is astonishing to hear the Liberal Democrats mention a lack of action. On Grok, this Government stood up to the richest man in the world, stood him down and as a result secured protections for people in this country. We have acted on cyber-flashing and strangulation in pornography, banning nudifi…
+22 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
20 May 2026
6 contributions
Artificial Intelligence
There are three particular things that this Government are doing to make sure that artificial intelligence is developed responsibly, and developed here: first, we are building deep capability in Government, with the AI Security Institute; secondly, we are developing a wider AI assurance sector, so t…
First, I would point out to the hon. Member that there is a series of regulations that apply to AI algorithms and systems at the point of use. Secondly, we have taken powers in the Crime and Policing Act 2026 that allow us to bring unregulated chatbots into the scope of that Act and its requirements…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
20 May 2026
2 contributions
EU Regulatory Alignment: Science and Technology
Diolch yn fawr, Mr Llywydd. Ministers from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology regularly meet representatives from science and technology communities. The UK has seized the moment on AI, quantum and semiconductors. We will keep building British sovereign strength, and alongside tha…
The feedback from UK tech businesses has been clear: Britain’s share of European venture capital investment is at its highest for 16 years. IT and technology are driving productivity upwards, alongside capital from the British Business Bank and Sovereign AI. Of course, we will work on redoing what w…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 April 2026
UK-India Technology Security Initiative
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Alec. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Weston-super-Mare (Dan Aldridge) for so expertly introducing this debate on the UK-India technology security initiative.
Technology and my early upbringing in India have profoundly shaped my life, so it is a p…
Commons
Debate
19 March 2026
Online Harms
I thank the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire (Ian Sollom) for bringing this important debate to the House. A number of hon. Members have mentioned bereaved families, and I want to pay tribute to all those families. Ian Russell—with whom I have had a series of meetings, including this …
Commons
Oral Questions
18 March 2026
Topical Questions
First, may I affirm the importance of the project that the right hon. Gentleman is talking about? The Government are backing the future of nuclear fusion across the country, and this site in particular has a huge contribution to make. Construction will be on its way by the end of the decade, with re…
Commons
Oral Questions
18 March 2026
3 contributions
Pornography: Regulation
One of the defining impacts of this Government is the action that we are taking to tackle violence against women and girls, and that means making illegal online that which is illegal offline. Intimate image abuse is now a priority offence; cyber-flashing is a priority offence; nudification apps are …
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s engagement in her constituency and on this debate nationally. She has been a strong champion for the voices of victims, particularly in relation to this question. I entirely agree with her demands for parity, and that is exactly the commitment we have made as a Gove…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 March 2026
2 contributions
UK-based Tech Companies
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Betts. I thank the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill (Peter Fortune) for securing this important debate on Government support for UK-based tech companies. I am grateful to him and to all other hon. Members across the Chamber for their contrib…
I have a 100% record so far of committing to visits when asked. I do not want to set too much of a precedent, but given the numbers in the room, I would be happy to take the hon. Member up on his kind offer as well.
The hon. Member also made an important point about SME representation on trade miss…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
4 contributions
Technology Sovereignty
It is such a pleasure to serve under you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West (Dame Chi Onwurah), the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, for securing this debate and bringing to it her deep expertise across engineeri…
I valued my hon. Friend’s earlier point that sovereignty has to be seen in the round. We cannot make everything here; we have to look at the entire bundle that we have to offer. In the context of LLMs, there is some uncertainty as to whether all the capability will ultimately accrue in closed propri…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
24 February 2026
13 contributions
Online Harm: Child Protection
It is a pleasure to respond to this debate, not least to further my education in my personal passion area of parliamentary procedure.
Let me begin by responding to the motion, and then I will turn to the substance of the debate. The hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) will accept that no Gov…
The Government are seeing both urgency and responsibility in the correspondence that we are receiving and the consultation we are engaging with, not the desperate lurch to a specific answer that the Liberal Democrats are exemplifying in this instance. I want to take this opportunity to set out our a…
+11 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
12 February 2026
3 contributions
Rural Mobile Connectivity
First and foremost, can I start by thanking the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) for securing this debate on mobile connectivity in rural areas? I thank all hon. Members for their insightful contributions.
While I am here speaking in place of my noble Friend in the other place, the M…
I thank the hon. Member for raising that point. I will come to that question, because I recognise the gap between the aggregate picture and the experience felt on the ground.
Let me return to aggregate investment. To ensure that investment delivers coverage improvements for communities right across…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
5 February 2026
17 contributions
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Fourth sitting)
I welcome you, Ms McVey, to the most exciting event in Parliament this week.
What a pleasure it is to serve with you in the Chair. Clause 9 brings large and medium-sized managed service providers—MSPs—into the scope of the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018. MSPs are organisations that provide an ongoing IT function, such as an IT help desk or cyber-security su…
+15 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
5 February 2026
20 contributions
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Third sitting)
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Stringer. The Bill will make crucial updates that build on the NIS regulations, which are the UK’s only cross-sector cyber-security regulations. As clause 1 sets out, “NIS regulations” refers to the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 (S.I., …
I welcome some of the Opposition spokesperson’s comments. Let me briefly address his questions about definitions and public sector inclusion. It is customary for the Opposition to oppose for the sake of opposition, at times, and I am afraid that this is one of those times; I have so far set out only…
+18 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
4 February 2026
5 contributions
Protecting Young People Online
With the groundbreaking steps in the Online Safety Act 2023, we are protecting children from illegal and harmful content online. The Secretary of State’s first step was to ensure that self-harm and suicide content were made priority offences. We have legislated to criminalise both the depiction of s…
I thank the hon. Lady for raising that important point. I have engaged deeply and frequently with the Molly Rose Foundation on this issue and wider concerns. We continue to ensure that the monitoring and evaluation of the Online Safety Act’s implementation is in progress—I am engaging regularly on t…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
3 February 2026
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Second sitting)
Q One of the things that we have heard over the course of the day is that the Bill is just one of a range of different ways in which public authorities engage with companies on cyber-security and resilience. I am interested in hearing about the impact the Police CyberAlarm programme has had on the c…
Commons
Committee Stage
3 February 2026
3 contributions
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (First sitting)
Q Thank you very much to both of you for your insights today. The question on my mind is related, in part, to the point that Jen raised. There are a range of levers at the Government’s disposal in thinking about and acting on cyber-security. I am interested in your thoughts on which parts of the eco…
Q Thank you all very much for making time. I have an implementation-focused question, perhaps directed at Stuart, but open to all. In practice, it would be helpful to understand how frequent is the case that a single company might provide multiple of the possible services in scope: MSP services, clo…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
5G Connectivity: Telford and West Midlands
First and foremost, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Telford (Shaun Davies) for securing this Adjournment debate. Throughout his entire tenure as the local MP, he has been a relentless champion for the people of Telford on the question of 5G and mobile coverage. He has listened closely to those…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 January 2026
2 contributions
Science and Discovery Centres
Thank you, Mrs Harris. I pay my due respects to you as the godmother of the Welsh mafia. It is always a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, but particularly on this occasion. With my hon. Friend the Member for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Steve Witherden) initiating his first Westminster Hall d…
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for her experience of science societies that she described so vividly. Historically, as I mentioned, UKRI has funded specific programmes. I am conscious that where there is available programme funding for eligible centres, they ought to ensure that they ap…
Commons
Debate
6 January 2026
3 contributions
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill
First and foremost, I thank all Members for their contributions to the debate. I am glad that the House has welcomed the Bill, with deep expertise shown by Members on both sides of the House. Of course, Members have asked questions and I will try to share the Government’s approach. Before that, let …
I might just make a bit of progress.
My hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington mentioned the food sector and food retailers, given recent attacks. Following the attacks on Marks & Spencer and Harrods, my hon. Friend the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs has written to and …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
17 December 2025
4 contributions
Online Harassment
Online harassment has no place in our society. Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must take steps to remove illegal content. These duties apply to abuse, to harassment, to threats and hate crimes, and to disinformation and misinformation that amounts to illegal content. What is more, the Governm…
I thank my hon. Friend and pay tribute to Debbie, the mother of Jay Slater, who has had to deal not just with the tragedy of her son’s death, but with all the subsequent harassment that she, family and friends have experienced. After I met my hon. Friend and Debbie, I raised the issue with the platf…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
17 December 2025
3 contributions
Torture of Animals: Online Content
Online content depicting or promoting animal torture is horrific and—let me be clear—unacceptable. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, animal cruelty is a priority offence, which needs proactive steps from platforms to counter it. We will keep the pressure on to enforce that.
May I first pay tribute to my hon. Friend—and indeed her cats Clement Cattlee and Mo Meowlam—for being right at the vanguard of campaigning on this serious issue. Animal cruelty is a priority offence in the law, as I mentioned, and Ofcom must enforce it and platforms must act on it. The Government w…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 December 2025
3 contributions
AI Safety
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Butler, for my first Westminster Hall debate. It is a particular pleasure not only to have you bring your technological expertise to the Chair, but for the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) to be reliably present in my first debate, as well …
My hon. Friend brings deep expertise from her past career. If she feels there are particular absences in the legislation on equalities, I would be happy to take a look, though that has not been pointed out to me, to date.
The Online Safety Act 2023 requires platforms to manage harmful and illegal c…
+1 more contribution in this session