Media Freedom Coalition
Debate between Baroness Chapman of Darlington and Lord Young of Acton
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
Obviously, what the United States Government choose to do is a matter for the United States Government. On the World Service, I am very pleased that last Thursday we were able to announce an uplift in our grant funding to the World Service of an additional 12%, even in the straitened fiscal circumstances in which we had to make that choice. It does vital work and I would not want to see anything jeopardise it.
Lord Young of Acton (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as a director at the Free Speech Union. In January, I pulled together a letter signed by about two dozen Peers, including two former national newspaper editors and the chairman of IPSO, asking the Secretary of State at DSIT when the free speech safeguards in the Online Safety Act are likely to be activated, given that it is now three years old. One of those safeguards is additional protections for journalistic content. I wonder if the Minister could let us know when we are likely to get a reply.
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
I am very happy to take that up with my right honourable friend the Secretary of State at DSIT. I am sure she would be fascinated and interested in the points that the noble Lord raises and will wish to provide a response as soon as she can.
Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence
Debate between Baroness Chapman of Darlington and Lord Young of Acton
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
I think that is right. My noble friend has a great deal of experience. I think he was a Minister at the department previously and at the MoD as well. He knows what he is talking about, and I take his contribution in the manner that he gives it.
Lord Young of Acton (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as the director of the Free Speech Union. In light of this outrageous sentence, will the Government get on with activating Section 9 of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act? I remind the Minister that that section requires English universities to declare their dependency on foreign funding, and was included in the Act to enable the Office for Students to monitor foreign funding in light of free speech concerns. This section, which was not activated by the Education Secretary when she entered office—she revoked the commencement order—seems particularly urgent in light of not only this outrageous sentence but the recent remarks by the head of MI6 about the extent of Chinese influence in British universities.
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
We have recently introduced many measures around higher education that would be relevant to that which the noble Lord outlined to us. I do not know whether we need to activate that particular section in the Act, but we are alive to the concerns that he raises and the Department for Education is working with the higher education sector to address them.
Israel: Royal College of Defence Studies
Debate between Baroness Chapman of Darlington and Lord Young of Acton(6 months, 2 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
Hamas is a terrorist organisation. It does not believe in a two-state solution. We believe that Israel and the state of Palestine should live safely, in prosperity and security, alongside one another.
Lord Young of Acton (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as a director of the British Friends of Israel. Can the Minister assure the House that the Defence Secretary had due regard for the equalities impact of his decision to exclude Israelis from taking up places at the Royal College of Defence Studies? I am sure she knows that is one of his legal duties under Section 149 of the Equality Act. Will she confirm that he will take specific advice from the Attorney General on this point?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
That is a very important point, and it has been considered, of course. To explain how the Equalities Act as it applies here, we award places at RCDS on the basis of its relationship with the Government and the country; it is not to do with the identity of the individuals who are taking part.