Contributions
920 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsMy understanding is that the camera was not covert, but, as I say, the Department of Health and Social Care is conducting an investigation and that will answer some of these…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsI thank my hon. Friend for raising an important point. As I have said, sweeps are conducted across Departments. Ultimately, the permanent secretaries of Departments are…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsThose legitimate concerns will be raised and, I hope, addressed through the Department of Health and Social Care investigation. As I say, the Cabinet Office is there to set the…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsIt is important that a distinction is made between material that was inappropriately sourced and then leaked and people who are trying to raise legitimate concerns that require…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsI thank the right hon. Lady for her important questions, which I will seek to answer. It is important to understand that Government guidance is that official devices, email…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsI appreciate your comments, Mr Speaker, about matters in relation to the House. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone) for his question and for…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsI appreciate that clarification, Mr Speaker, which is important. I wish to assure my hon. Friend that we do endorse the Wilson doctrine, and I agree that it is unacceptable should…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsYes, I can confirm that official information held in private email accounts is subject to FOI.28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsI thank my hon. Friend for his pointed and important question, and I hope that during the course of the investigation led by the Department that some of these answers will come…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsI assure the hon. Lady that I am not complacent. This is a fast-moving situation. We found out about this device on Friday, and I have sought a number of assurances. Some of them…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsThose are very pertinent questions, and ones that I have asked in advance of today and to which we will all want answers. My right hon. Friend makes an important and useful…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsThe investigation is being led by the Department of Health and Social Care. The hon. Lady raises an important point about the threshold at which it is subject to security and…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsI think that will form part of the investigation, and it is something that the Government’s security group will actively look into.28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsAs I have said, Government guidance is that official devices, email accounts and communications applications should be used for communicating classified information, but other…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsIn so far as there are any questions raised in this entire episode about whether a matter was leaked, there will be questions to be answered in so far as they involve any civil…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsI thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I am sorry that I cannot furnish the House with answers on the matter of security on this day, but I hope to be able to do so shortly.28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsI thank my hon. Friend, and I shall want an answer to that question.28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsThose are answers that we will hopefully get once the investigation is complete. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is in Scotland today so he could not be in the House. I…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsThere is a range of different ways in which security is maintained across the Government estate. Some of those are dealt with by the police, some by Government security, and some…28 Jun 2021HANSARDSecurity of Ministers’ Offices and CommunicationsI wish to assure the hon. Member that we maintain the Wilson doctrine and that we wish to ensure that there is no covert surveillance within a Minister’s office. That is extremely…28 Jun 2021