Contributions
1,185 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Second sitting)May I just declare an interest, very briefly?25 Oct 2022HANSARDDraft Terrorism Act 2000 (Alterations to the Search Powers Code England and Wales and Scotland) Order 2022I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Terrorism Act 2000 (Alterations to the Search Powers for England and Wales and Scotland) Order 2022. It is a great…19 Oct 2022HANSARDDraft Terrorism Act 2000 (Alterations to the Search Powers Code England and Wales and Scotland) Order 2022I will definitely take that back to the Home Secretary; I am sure that she will be delighted to do that. I am sure chief constables will be aware that the measures have…19 Oct 2022HANSARDDraft Terrorism Act 2000 (Alterations to the Search Powers Code England and Wales and Scotland) Order 2022I am grateful for the cross-party support for these important measures.19 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)May I interrupt with a point of fact? Any company that is designated under the highest tier will be public by definition. That element will be public. It is the UK element that is…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)I would be prepared to move that, if the Committee were supportive.18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)The right hon. Gentleman knows very well my own views on foreign influence on political parties. Sadly, we have seen such influence in all political parties, where parties or…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)The right hon. Gentleman knows very well that what we express in private and what we say from the Dispatch Box cannot always be absolutely aligned. I am not going to identify…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)I do not think that is the case. The hon. Gentleman should realise that foreign control of any kind is under the general provision of the so-called ordinary provision, while the…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)The right hon. Gentleman is right to ask. Control over an entity means 25% of a shareholding—that is one thing that we have already identified—or it could also be formal…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)The right hon. Gentleman knows that there is not a single tool to deal with every task. The Bill will certainly help with a lot of things that already exist; the Economic Crime…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)The right hon. Gentleman is identifying a problem that we have had with foreign ownership of companies for a very long time. That is why the Economic Crime and Corporate…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)My understanding is that—in fact, I will come back to that when I sum up, because the hon. Gentleman has raised an interesting point. We consider a power relationship to include,…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)Let me be completely clear, because subsection (8) makes it completely clear: there is no requirement for a foreign power itself to register. We cannot compel foreign powers or…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)We are clearly speaking at cross purposes. The state that is on the enhanced register would be public. The company would be public. Those UK companies that are registering may not…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)Forgive me, but I think the right hon. Gentleman has got this slightly the wrong way round. By definition, the company that would be identified would be a foreign company, not a…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)Let me clarify. Whoever is identified as being on the enhanced tier will be identified publicly. It is those companies that may be co-operating; at the moment, there is a…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)The nature of the registration will not be a secret, but who has had to register will be kept private at the moment. I am already keeping this matter under discussion, so I am…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)Indeed. But I entirely respect the right hon. Gentleman’s position, and I do understand the point he is making. New clause 11 will require Ministers—specifically, the Secretary of…18 Oct 2022HANSARDNational Security Bill (Thirteenth sitting)I do not accept that, so I think we will have to end this discussion with an agreement to disagree.18 Oct 2022