Lords
Statutory Instrument
30 October 2025
4 contributions
Extradition Act 2003 (Amendment to Designations) Order 2025
My Lords, we live in an increasingly interconnected world, where crime knows no borders. International co-operation should be promoting justice and we should be helping to try to keep the public safe. That is really important to do. Accordingly, the instrument I bring before your Lordships’ House to…
My Lords, I thank the Minister for meeting me to discuss this statutory instrument and my concerns, which are outlined in my amendment to the Motion before your Lordships’ House. As it makes clear, my concerns extend to only one of the three countries specified in the SI—Hong Kong—because of its spe…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
30 October 2025
7 contributions
Asylum Seekers: MoD Housing
I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, for his question. The local authorities in both areas were informed two weeks ago, and we are continuing to ensure that we discuss the arrangements to date with the police, the National Health Service and local councils in each area. The Government are …
We have had around 1,000 learning points from discussions with a range of agencies over the use of previous sites. I know the noble Lord has visited, and that has been very helpful. Members of this House, and others, can visit and examine the conditions in the proposed new sites by arrangement with …
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
28 October 2025
13 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
I am grateful to the noble Lords who have tabled these amendments to allow us to have this discussion again on the Border Security Commander. Let me lay to rest one allegation straight away. This is not a gimmick. This is a serious piece of government policy to put in place a co-ordinating Border Se…
Again, I think the noble Lord misunderstands the focus of the Bill. The Bill is giving statutory footing to what is now happening. There is a Border Security Commander in post. That Border Security Commander has the roles that we have outlined here, but this puts the post on a statutory footing.
+11 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
27 October 2025
5 contributions
Child Poverty Strategy: Migrant Families
My Lords, my noble friend’s response is most welcome. Because of this rule, hundreds of thousands of children, including some British children, are at a disproportionate risk of poverty, especially deep poverty, to the detriment of their mental health and development. The former Work and Pensions Co…
My Lords, the cohort of refugee children in this country who are in child poverty is large, and the Government propose to extend the time at which people can gain indefinite leave to remain in this country from five years to 10 years, so there is an implication for that cohort who will be held in th…
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
27 October 2025
8 contributions
Non-crime Hate Incidents
I thank the Minister for his reply. The non-crime hate incident regime is being prolifically exploited by malicious individuals targeting people who merely disagree with them. The police are required to believe the complainant, contrary to the presumption of innocence. The target of the complaint ma…
My Lords, I declare my interest as director of the Free Speech Union. To follow up on the noble Lord’s question, as I understand it, the Metropolitan Police is no longer going to investigate non-prime hate incidents, although it will continue to record them. That appears to be the direction of trave…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
22 October 2025
6 contributions
Rape Gangs: National Statutory Inquiry
I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Lochiel. First, I say to him that when the Infected Blood Inquiry and the Covid inquiry were established, it took seven months to put a chair in place. We are currently at the very late stages of determining who the chair for this inquiry should be. I…
I am grateful to the noble Baroness. I refer her to the Statement that the Home Secretary made in response to the issues that arose out of yesterday’s Urgent Question in the House of Commons. The Home Secretary said today that the inquiry will
“explicitly examine the ethnicity and religion of the o…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill
My Lords, in moving that the Bill be read a third time, I just say on behalf of the whole House that the safety and security of those in the UK is the Government’s highest priority. Deprivation is an important and effective tool.
I want to thank all noble Lords who have contributed to the debates o…
My Lords, in moving that the Bill be read a third time, I just say on behalf of the whole House that the safety and security of those in the UK is the Government’s highest priority. Deprivation is an important and effective tool. I want to thank all noble Lords who have contributed to the debates on…
Lords
Debate
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill
I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Verdirame, and the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, for tabling the amendment and for their contributions to today’s debate. I am also grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Jay, who has previously raised this issue with me in private meetings. I was pleased to meet the n…
I am grateful to the noble Baroness. I place that in the mix because it is outside the scope the Bill. I affirm, as I hope I have already done, that the Government’s policy position is that this would be unworkable and would lead to potential areas of risk. Having said that, as I said to the noble L…
Lords
Proceedings
21 October 2025
11 contributions
Alleged Spying Case: Home Office Involvement
I am grateful to the noble Lord for his question. As he knows, the Security Minister made it clear last week, on 15 October, in Parliament that Ministers were informed after the DPP had made his decision and shortly before reporting restrictions were lifted. He came to the House straightaway to make…
I certainly give the noble Lord the assurance that this department takes extremely seriously the security of individuals whose personal circumstances have been brought into the public domain in a way which puts them under potential threat from any hostile force at all. I will certainly also take his…
+9 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
16 October 2025
5 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
Before the Minister moves on, will he respond to my question? Why have the Government decided to legislate only for that group of workers?
Oh!
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
8 contributions
Police: Vetting, Training and Discipline
I am grateful, as always, to my noble friend the Minister. I gave him advance notice of a case of a 68 year-old man convicted in Guildford Crown Court just last week of a string of pretty horrific paedophile offences. During the trial, it emerged that he had served as a police CHIS spy for many year…
My Lords, is it not possible to accept that what we have got is a situation, which nobody seems to want to address, where we have a class divide in the police force? We have a situation where people from the working classes join the police force and, unless we move around and start bringing in more …
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
15 October 2025
6 contributions
Manchester Terrorism Attack
I am grateful for the approach taken by His Majesty’s loyal Opposition and by colleagues from the Liberal Democrat Benches and for their condemnation of what is an evil act of antisemitic terrorism that targeted innocent worshippers on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. It was carri…
I am grateful to the right reverend Prelate. It is really important that those of different faiths from the Jewish community stand with them and express their solidarity and support. These are attacks against an aspect of life—their religion and very being—that they cherish very dearly. It is simply…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
14 October 2025
4 contributions
Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill
There is no more important task for any Government than to keep their citizens safe, and this Bill will form an important part of the Government’s ability to do just that. I remind noble Lords that the Bill is very narrow in its scope and intent: it contains just one substantive clause, which is foc…
My Lords, as always, it is a pleasure to follow the Minister in opening the Second Reading of this short but highly important Bill. There is a lot that we disagree on in this House—indeed, in politics in general, it would be fair to say that the Minister and I have differing views on a number of iss…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
14 October 2025
10 contributions
Refugee Family Reunion Scheme
I thank the Minister for his response, but I will press him further. Recent research from Oxfam and the Refugee Council has found clear evidence of people turning to cross-channel smugglers to reach family members because they could not access a safe and legal family reunion pathway. Therefore, what…
My Lords, safe and legal routes have always included working with the United Nations on its various programmes. I had the honour of organising the Bosnian one in the 1990s. Therefore, can the Minister confirm that the Government are still actively in touch with the United Nations to make sure that t…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
13 October 2025
8 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Lister of Burtersett for proposing the amendment and for the support that she had from the noble Lord, Lord German, in relation to the contribution that he has made. I shall deal initially with Amendment 186, which was tabled by my noble friend, the no…
The proposals will be set out shortly, subject to consultation. I hope the noble Lord can await that formal consultation on those proposals.
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
13 October 2025
2 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
I am genuinely grateful to noble Lords who have tabled these amendments. I thank the noble Baronesses, Lady Hamwee and Lady Jones, the noble Lords, Lord German, Lord Jackson and Lord Kerr, and my noble friends Lord Dubs and Lady Lister for their proposed amendments. They have generated a debate and …
I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord German, for speaking to the amendments on behalf of the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton. They have raised two specific issues, as the noble Lords, Lord Harper and Lord Davies of Gower, have mentioned. First, the Government recognise the vital contribution which int…
Lords
Oral Questions
13 October 2025
11 contributions
Asylum Claims: Religious Conversion
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that Answer, but I am sure that many other noble Lords will be surprised to hear that the Home Office does not publish such statistics. Given the salience of asylum claims and the number of illegal migrants coming to our shores, it would very much help the communit…
My Lords, at the outset, can I say how much these Liberal Democrat Benches will miss our dearly respected and valued colleague, Lord Ming Campbell of Pittenweem? He served the country well. My question to the Minister is this: last year, the previous Government established a faith working group to l…
+9 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
17 September 2025
3 contributions
Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 and the Terrorism Act 2000 (Port Examination Codes of Practice) Regulations 2025
My Lords, this statutory instrument was laid before the House on 9 July. It brings forward revised codes of practice for the exercise of powers under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 and Schedule 3 to the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. I contend to the Committee that the powers …
My Lords, I rise again on behalf of the Official Opposition to speak to these regulations and again offer broad support to the Government for them.
The powers allowing individuals to be stopped, questioned, searched and detained without suspicion are among the most intrusive the state can exercise.…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
17 September 2025
3 contributions
Data Protection Act 2018 (Qualifying Competent Authorities) Regulations 2025
My Lords, this instrument was laid before the House on 7 July. The then Home Secretary and the current Home Secretary have exercised powers under Section 82(2A) of the Data Protection Act 2018 to specify in this instrument the qualifying competent authorities that will be able to apply for a designa…
My Lords, this instrument is a welcome step in increasing the efficacy of our data sharing and protecting our national security interests. Until the enactment of this instrument, authorities processing information under the Data Protection Act 2018 have been subject to two separate legislative data-…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
16 September 2025
9 contributions
Undocumented Migrants
The Home Secretary recently issued a statement with positive plans to deal with the crisis in relation to small boats. But, as we witnessed yesterday, even the deportation of a very small number of people back to France proved impossible. The focus of successive Governments on the criminal gangs and…
My Lords, I call the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, who is participating remotely.
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
6 contributions
Nepal: Protests
I am grateful to the Minister for his Answer. Your Lordships’ House will be as saddened as I am to see the chaos that has descended over Nepal over the last week. What started as a peaceful protest by Gen Z-ers against the banning of social media and corruption has resulted in more than 20 people be…
My Lords, what support are His Majesty’s Government—or, for that matter, any Government—providing to civil society organisations and human rights defenders in Nepal as they alone work to promote accountability for the violence that caused 19 deaths, and to protect fundamental freedoms?
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
10 September 2025
7 contributions
Gaza Protests: Anti-terrorism Legislation
I thank the Minister for his sadly predictable reply. Using terrorism laws on peaceful, elderly protestors is ridiculous. They are no more terrorists than the Minister himself. This absurd misuse of terrorism legislation is deeply damaging to our freedom of speech. Will the Government please stop sh…
My Lords, a perfectly good case can be made for proscribing Palestine Action, and I agree with that decision, but does the Minister know that in this country there has always been discretion not to prosecute in a case where there is no public interest in arresting and prosecuting? Does he not accept…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
9 September 2025
9 contributions
Child Houses for Child Victims of Sexual Abuse
I so welcome that commitment, but 500,000 children are sexually abused each year in England and Wales. Seven years ago, this single pilot centre was created in London, providing cost-effective wraparound healthcare, therapy and access to justice under one roof. It treats several hundred of the half …
I welcome the Minister’s excellent Answer to the Question from the noble Baroness, but will he go a step further and tell us that the Home Office will use the Lighthouse project as the template around the country, given that it is cheaper than existing less specialist sexual abuse services, helps ch…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
8 September 2025
19 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, for moving the amendment. I hope she will pass on the best wishes of His Majesty’s Government and myself to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, regarding her absence from this House. We look forward to undoubtedly seeing h…
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Bach for his amendment and for the support of the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, the noble Lord, Lord Carlile of Berriew and the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, on behalf of her noble friend Lady Ludford. I have also heard contributions from the Floor of t…
+17 more contributions in this session