Contributions
676 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDGigabit BroadbandWe were never going to go from 0% to 100% overnight. It has always been a roll-out programme. It is a huge infrastructure investment project, and it is not possible for network…24 Mar 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsThere were a number of questions there. We are working with the Department for Transport and trying to ameliorate that situation. It is an FA decision, so we are also discussing…24 Mar 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe ruled out wider legislation in statute, but a Joint Committee to undertake post-legislative scrutiny of the Online Safety Bill would be established by a Standing Order and is…24 Mar 2022HANSARDChannel 5As I have said a number of times at the Dispatch Box, a decision has not yet been reached on the future of Channel 4. This week I met its chief executive, Alex Mahon, and its…24 Mar 2022HANSARDOnline SafetyToday the Government are introducing the Online Safety Bill. For most people, the internet has transformed relationships and working environments, but illegal and harmful content…17 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineI absolutely agree. My point is that the work of all our journalists—all British journalists—is of vital importance at this time. The work of an independent and free media—free…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineCould I just finish the sentence? I do not think that my colleagues hit the APPG because of the views of the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) on Putin; they did so because…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineI speak as someone who ran a school in Africa for a year and waited every day to hear the words announcing the World Service. First, it is funded through the Foreign, Commonwealth…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineI thank the hon. Gentleman for that comment, because we have not mentioned Ukrainian voices in providing information about what is happening in Ukraine via their own journalism…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineI welcome my hon. Friend and thank her for her question and comments—and I welcome Southend to its city status, too. On the scope of the summit, we will be discussing all things…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineYes, I absolutely agree. That is our leadership—don’t do it, don’t promote Russia, don’t broadcast Russia. Sadly, local Russians will suffer and pay the cost as a result, but I am…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineWhat can I say other than yes? Absolutely. We are all watching every broadcast of the news and we are all reading the newspapers. We all know the danger that journalists in both…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineWhat a fabulous statement—well said. What can I say? I can only agree. I cannot top that.03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineI thank the hon. Member for his words on the Crouch report, which is incredibly valuable and opportune at this time. Its recommendations involve the establishment of a regulator,…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineMy officials have been holding conversations day and night—many operators are based in the US, not the UK—since Putin launched his horrendous war on Ukraine. We are doing…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineWe know about those stories of people leaving their families, the harrowing pictures of fathers leaving their babies behind and mothers leaving for Poland while fathers fight,…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineI am sure that the chair of Ofcom has heard my hon. Friend’s words loud and clear. On his second question, we cannot make any guarantees—it is a theatre of war. We cannot…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineThe hon. Gentleman is right that sport and politics should never mix, but we are in the theatre of war and it is very different. Sport is a very useful tool in the theatre of war,…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineWe do not want to look as though we are being opportunistic in saying we could hold the conference in the UK, but I am sure many Members will have suggestions about their…03 Mar 2022HANSARDRussia’s Attack on UkraineI absolutely do. I commend every institution that has taken what some feel is a brave line, but it is the right line and the right position: not to engage with, not to display,…03 Mar 2022