Lords
Statutory Instrument
11 December 2025
Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2025
That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 15 October be approved. Relevant document: 40th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (special attention drawn to the instrument). Considered in Grand Committee on 4 December.
Lords
Oral Questions
11 December 2025
8 contributions
West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Match
Hear, hear!
I admire my noble friend’s stamina, particularly considering he has a Statement to follow.
He will know that the decision of the safety committee in relation to Maccabi fans coming to Birmingham was a mistake. However, it seems to have been based on very flawed evidence from the West Midlands Polic…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
11 December 2025
8 contributions
Social Media: Scam Adverts and Fraudulent Content
My Lords, we face a wave of increasingly sophisticated AI-generated scams, yet, despite what the Minister has said, Ofcom’s updated road map has pushed the consultation on the codes of practice for fraudulent advertising into mid-2026, meaning that new online safety protections are unlikely to be fu…
My Lords, it is becoming increasingly apparent that overseas, in different countries, there are huge numbers of almost industrial-scale scams going on. Will the new fraud strategy include a way of tackling some of the international problems that we have? Is my noble friend the Minister liaising with…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
11 December 2025
7 contributions
United States: Intelligence Sharing
I am grateful to my noble friend the Minister for that response. There is one issue in particular which is of major concern to people: the American bombing campaign on small boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific. I am told that 76 people have died in these attacks on civilian ships. There have been…
My Lords, intelligence sharing is obviously essential to our national security, but if an ally leaks or withholds information or uses it for illegal actions, does that not require the UK to look more widely for autonomous intelligence gathering of our own, less dependence on others and more co-opera…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
9 December 2025
7 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, Amendments 308 and 309 are closely bound with Amendment 313 tabled by my noble friend Lady Goudie. If the Committee will allow me, I will ask my noble friend Lady Ritchie to speak to her amendments and on behalf of our noble friend Lady Goudie, who is unable to be here tonight. That being …
I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Ritchie of Downpatrick for commencing this discussion and debate. A number of views have been expressed in Committee today and some go wider than the amendments that are before us. The noble Earl, Lord Attlee, raised a number of issues which go beyond what is be…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
10 contributions
Facial Recognition Technology: Safeguards
I thank the Minister for his Answer, but does he now accept that the police’s facial recognition algorithm has been flawed? It has been racially biased and biased against women. Actually, it should be stopped until it can be improved.
My Lords, notwithstanding their being of the party that introduced the ground-breaking and vital Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, the previous Government allowed the mushrooming of police use of this technology with no express and specific statutory authorisation. Does my noble friend the Mini…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
25 November 2025
7 contributions
Migration: Settlement Pathway
I am grateful for the opportunity to answer questions in this House on the Statement made by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary.
Let me start by saying to the noble Lord, Lord Davies, that the Government are not feeling the pressure on this issue. The Government are responding, as any se…
I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, for reminding me why I wrote down “transitional” in relation to the comments by the noble Lord, Lord German. I hope that, following my explanation, he can avoid another missive from me off the back of this.
I will start by saying something t…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
24 November 2025
7 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
My Lords, in dealing with this Motion we will also deal with Motion A1.
Motion A1 (as an amendment to Motion A)
My Lords, I really do not envy the Minister in this situation. Obviously, we have debated this issue on a number of occasions; it was debated in the other place last Wednesday.
A lot of water has gone under the bridge since the Second Reading of this Bill in the other place and in this House—even m…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
24 November 2025
8 contributions
Non-Crime Hate Incidents
I thank the Minister for that Answer. He may not be aware that in 2023 I was charged with a non-crime hate incident. Thanks to my noble friend Lord Young of Acton, who is in his place, and the Free Speech Union, we managed to fight it and get it dropped, but, by some estimates from Policy Exchange a…
My Lords, non-crime hate incidents, even if they are not investigated but recorded, are a good way of assessing the rising levels of hatred in society. For example, increasing levels of anti-social behaviour appear to be linked to hate crime. Can the Minister tell us whether mechanisms are in place …
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
20 November 2025
12 contributions
Asylum Policy
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Gower, and I will try to answer his questions first of all. I am grateful for the welcome he gave to some of the Government’s proposals. I remind him that the reason we are undertaking these reforms is that we have inherited a very broken sys…
I am grateful for the noble Lord’s question. I take the view that the Government will determine ultimately which are safe countries. The Government will make that judgment. We are open to challenge and discussion, but the Government will have to make a determination on that. In doing so, we will loo…
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
19 November 2025
7 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I begin by, in part, sharing the aspirations of the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra. I agree with him. It is not shoplifting; it is shop theft. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Davies, on that same point. When I began my working career 45 years ago after university with the Co-op on a managem…
There is a genuine fear about what the response would be, and I understand that. The days when I—and potentially the noble Lord, Lord Randall—stopped a shop theft in a retail premises were a long time ago. The climate was different, and now there is the carrying of knives and the threat of violence.…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
19 November 2025
12 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, this is the first in a number of groups of government amendments. I apologise for the large number of amendments before the Committee today. Their core aim is to apply various additional provisions in the Bill to Scotland and/or Northern Ireland. They reflect the outcome of further engagem…
I think I can say yes to both those points. If I cannot, I shall revert to her shortly.
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
18 November 2025
13 contributions
Police Reform
I am grateful for this opportunity to outline the Government’s plans for police and crime commissioners. In doing so, I hope I can answer the questions raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Doocey, and the noble Lord, Lord, Davies of Gower.
First, we anticipate doing this for efficiency reasons. As th…
Knows who Steve Rotheram is. I am being distracted by the noble Lord, Lord Swire, who is anxious to bounce up. We have 20 minutes in this first part—he should know that by now. He is bouncing away and trying to get in. I will give him the opportunity, but I still have up to eight minutes before the …
+11 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
17 November 2025
8 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, for tabling the amendments. I hope I can half help him today and, in doing so, assist the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville.
I confirm that the Government will repeal the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824. In Clauses 10 and 11, the Gov…
I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Whitaker for tabling the amendment. She has obviously secured widespread support—from the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester and the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle.
As my nob…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
17 November 2025
3 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
My Lords, before we conclude the Lords stages of the Bill, I wish to express my deep sadness following the news last week of the passing of the noble Baroness, Lady Newlove. On behalf of the Home Office, I praise her dedication and her work in supporting victims, drawing on her personal experience, …
My Lords, I echo the Minister’s thanks to the Bill team. I also thank him, because I cannot recall the number of meetings he has held with officials and Members who have raised issues during the passage of the Bill. That does not mean that those meetings resulted in satisfaction for all those who ma…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
11 November 2025
2 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Maclean of Redditch, for tabling the amendments before us. They have certainly begun a short debate. I regret to inform her that I will not be able to accept them. I hope that she can withdraw them, but I will give her an explanation as to why.
The amendmen…
I am grateful, again, to the noble Baroness, Lady Maclean of Redditch, for her amendment. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London made a compelling case in arguing against the amendment. I thank her for her support, as I too will not be supporting the amendment.
I took the words “blanket re…
Lords
Debate
11 November 2025
6 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
I am grateful to my noble friends Lord Browne of Ladyton and Lord Cashman for the amendment today, and to the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Sentamu, for his support. I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet my noble friend outside the House to hear his concerns at first hand. I again wish…
I am grateful to the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chelmsford for Amendment 60 and in particular for her courage in bringing her personal experience to the Chamber today. I am also grateful to my noble friend Lady Lister of Burtersett, the noble Lord, Lord German, the noble and right reverend…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
11 November 2025
10 contributions
Police: Records
My Lords, as my Question indicates, this issue has been around for over 13 years. Bishop James Jones’s devastating report called ‘The Patronising Disposition of Unaccountable Power’ , published in 2017, said that this issue should be addressed as a matter of urgency. He noted a comment from the Sout…
My Lords, since the College of Policing introduced its updated code of practice on records management, both South Yorkshire Police and Northumbria Police have admitted destroying records relating to Orgreave, despite long-standing calls for a public inquiry. Does the Minister accept that voluntary c…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
11 November 2025
9 contributions
Overseas Musicians Touring in the UK
I thank my noble friend the Minister for that Answer. UK Music’s annual report will be published tomorrow, but I can give your Lordships a sneak preview of one of its findings: 95% of musicians impacted by our leaving the EU have seen their earnings decrease since Brexit. The movement of musicians i…
My Lords, one of the key asks from the sector is for visa waiver agreements, not just with the EU but with other countries. Are the Government pursuing this urgently, both as part of the reset and globally?
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
10 November 2025
6 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Russell of Liverpool, for his amendments. I also thank the Victims’ Commissioner, the noble Baroness, Lady Newlove, both on the amendments and for her work on this issue over many years. I am also grateful for the support of the noble Baronesses, Lady Stedman-Scott and L…
My Lords, the amendments in this group are technical amendments that affect provisions in the Bill containing data-sharing provisions. Within the relevant clauses and schedule, there are general provisions that bar the disclosure of data if such disclosures would contravene data-protection legislati…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
10 November 2025
11 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
I am grateful to the noble Lords who have spoken in this debate on the first day in Committee on the Crime and Policing Bill. I feel like I am at base camp at the start of a climb to Mount Everest—but, as ever, Mount Everest has been conquered, as I am sure the Bill will eventually be as well. It fe…
I have great respect for the noble Lord’s contributions. I have heard what he said, but I believe that this is the right way forward. We can always examine his comments again and I appreciate the way in which he has contributed to the debate.
Amendment 6, from the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Gower, …
+9 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
5 November 2025
18 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, for her amendment. I assure her that there is nothing nerdy about putting amendments down in this field. As a fellow nerd on many other topics, I welcome her contribution to the debate.
The amendments, as the noble Baroness has said, are on the imp…
The argument I put is that the person will have been given every opportunity to show that their pre-settled status was granted correctly. If there was an error from the Home Office, there is a period in which they can make that argument. But if we get to a position whereby staying in the UK with the…
+16 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
4 November 2025
5 contributions
Huntingdon Train Attack
I am grateful to His Majesty’s loyal Opposition and to the Liberal Democrat Benches for their contributions this evening. I give a broad welcome to their comments on the work of the emergency services, the British Transport Police, the Cambridgeshire Constabulary, the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue …
I am grateful to my noble friend. I know that he spent time in a Stockport signal box in a previous life, and he is right to pay tribute to the signallers who helped with the safety measures that undoubtedly saved lives. Whatever the incident on the train, arriving at the station with police and amb…
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
4 November 2025
9 contributions
Elon Musk
My Lords, while I fully support my noble friend’s comments about freedom of expression, sometimes people go a bit too far. Is it not a fact that Elon Musk has posted that civil war is inevitable in this country and that the USA should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical Government?
My Lords, I declare that I am CEO of Muslim Women’s Network, which has just set up the Muslim Safety Net helpline. What are the Government doing to protect the safety of Muslim women, who are very vulnerable to hate crime? So far, they have announced protection for mosques, which is welcome, but wha…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
3 November 2025
9 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Lister for her Amendment 57, and to the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, for her Amendment 27, which has stimulated a discussion. I am grateful for the letter that I received today from my noble friend Lady Longfield, in which she asked me to support my noble frien…
I think I did address that. I said at the very beginning of my statement that the Government have accepted all eight recommendations from the inspectorate, including plans to proactively engage with local authorities, social workers and key stakeholders to advance progress on the recommendations. I …
+7 more contributions in this session