Contributions
466 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSub-Committee on DisinformationThe hon. Lady raises a number of very important issues. Co-operation with the authorities is important. We have seen too many cases where different social media companies have…04 Apr 2019HANSARDSub-Committee on DisinformationThe Sub-Committee will be the forum through which we look for areas where the Committee can analyse and respond to the White Paper. It will also be the forum through which we seek…04 Apr 2019HANSARDSub-Committee on DisinformationIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes. Earlier this week, the Select Committee published its 10th report on the creation of the Sub-Committee on…04 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesAs I said to other hon. Members, I am sympathetic to any Select Committee that seeks to interview a public official or Minister as part of their inquiry. In my three years’…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesThe correspondence between me as Chair of the Committee and Mr Cummings is published in full in the Committee’s report, so any Member can read that and make their own judgment as…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesWe had a similar issue with other witnesses during the inquiry. When Arron Banks gave evidence to the Committee, some aspects of Leave.EU’s work that were relevant to the…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesThat is absolutely right. I was a member of the Committee when Rupert Murdoch came to give evidence, in response to a summons of the House. That was right in the middle of the…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesThat is ultimately a matter for the House to determine. Let us look at other jurisdictions. I believe that the United States Congress, for example, can impose a fine or a…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesMy hon. Friend is right; that is an important point. There has to be some penalty. For some people, that would involve damage to their reputation. Someone who is running a public…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesAbsolutely; my hon. Friend and fellow member of the Committee makes an excellent point. That is a good example of people finding themselves in a situation of which they are the…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesThose conditions certainly applied in the case of Rupert Murdoch, because he was asked expressly what he knew about the practice of phone hacking at his newspapers, as was Rebekah…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesWell, it sort of depends on what Mr Cummings thought he was going to say and whether he thought he was likely to be in that position. As I have said, the Committee wished to…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesThere is a difference. I do not believe that Mr Cummings ever accepted the legitimacy of Parliament to ask him to appear, which is a matter that we should take seriously in its…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesAnd even to his own Committee, yes. He thought it was no business of ours to set parameters for the special ad hoc Committee of the House that should be assembled just to question…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesI know that my right hon. Friend is talking in general terms about a future case, but for the record, in this particular case involving Mr Cummings, Select Committees were not…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesMy right hon. Friend is making an important point. The chief executive of a big company will have a team of people to help them prepare their evidence, but that is not required.…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesI do not believe that we are singling out one individual in this case. It is highly unusual for anyone to behave in the way in which Dominic Cummings behaved towards the…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesIndeed. The questions that we wished to put to Mr Cummings were highly relevant to our inquiry. They were also highly relevant to evidence presented by other people, including…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesI thank the Deputy Leader of the House for his statement. I also thank the Leader of the House for giving me notice that she would be unable to attend the Chamber today, and for…02 Apr 2019HANSARD PrivilegesAs I said to my hon. Friend earlier, I think there is a basic principle and a presumption that witnesses, be they a Minister or not, should attend Committees conducting inquiries.…02 Apr 2019