Contributions
464 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD National Security Council LeakI sincerely hope that all Ministers will abide by the principle that one speaks with complete frankness in trying to shape and take decisions about collective Government policy,…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakI have, I think, taken great care in the language that I have used in the House today, and I am not in the business of going around making allegations of the kind that have…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakThe question of the classification of documents is kept under review the whole time. In my recent experience, some Cabinet papers have been classified at secret level and others…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakWhether my right hon. Friend the Member for South Staffordshire wants to apply to you, Mr Speaker, to make a personal statement is a matter for him, but there has been a public…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakFor the reasons that I have given in response to a number of earlier questions. The key issue here is less the substance of what was disclosed and more the fact that the…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakIt is obviously for the police to decide whether they believe that the case merits their investigation, but it is not their job to conduct leak inquiries regarding material…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakThere was a thorough investigation. Every ministerial member of the National Security Council, and those officials and special advisers who might have had access to the material…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakThe hon. Gentleman mixes up a number of matters. The Attorney General’s consent is required to a prosecution under the Official Secrets Act, but the Attorney General has no power…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakThe various tests for a criminal offence are set out in detail in the Official Secrets Act. Whether or not that threshold has been breached depends on harm tests, and those harm…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakI am grateful to my hon. Friend for those comments, and he is right. In carrying out that work, it is vital that we have a forum in the National Security Council where the…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakDear, dear. It takes a bit of brass neck for an SNP Member to talk about fights between party leaders. The truth is that the Prime Minister has taken very firm and swift action in…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakMy hon. Friend invites me to engage in a bit of hypothetical speculation. If there were to be any such clear evidence, I think the Prime Minister would want it reported to her…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakFirst, yes, I am very confident that we have an impartial and professional senior civil service that is always ready to serve the elected Government to the best of its ability,…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakHuawei is officially owned by its employees and is a private Chinese company. It is true, as I believe I said at the Dispatch Box and I have certainly said on previous occasions,…02 May 2019HANSARD National Security Council LeakClearly, the Cabinet Secretary made a careful assessment of those matters in coming to his judgment, but that judgment is that this is not something that the Government should…02 May 2019HANSARDContingent LiabilityIt is normal practice, when a Government Department proposes to undertake a contingent liability in excess of £300,000 for which there is no specific statutory authority, for the…25 Apr 2019HANSARDEngagementsI pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the way in which she has championed this and other environmental issues during her time in the House. I can certainly say that a Minister—I do…24 Apr 2019HANSARDEngagementsThe facts are that the Government have increased police funding by more than £970 million for the next year, and the Labour party voted against that increase when the order came…24 Apr 2019HANSARDEngagementsI am going to wait to see what the advice is, and I am sure that the House could want to do that, as well as to learn from the Government directly what their decisions are going…24 Apr 2019HANSARDEngagementsThe Government are very clear indeed that we do not agree with a second referendum, and we have voted against a second referendum. All of us recall telling our electors in 2016…24 Apr 2019