Telecommunications (Security) Bill Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill
Main Page: Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill's debates with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Telecommunications (Security) Bill
Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill ExcerptsThursday 15th July 2021
(3 years, 4 months ago)
Grand CommitteeRead Full debate Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 View all Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: HL Bill 15-III Provisional third marshalled list for Grand Committee - (14 Jul 2021)
The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill) (Lab)
I have received a request to speak after the Minister, from the noble Lord, Lord Fox.
Lord Fox (LD)
I thank the Minister and other speakers for this debate, which is really important. The Minister was basically saying in her response, “Don’t worry, we’ve got this covered.” If the Government did indeed have it covered, I suggest that ripping out 40% of the 5G network at the cost of several billion pounds to the industry is a pretty poor cover. The point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Stroud, that it took Back- Benchers to highlight this rather than the Government was particularly apposite.
The Minister portrayed the decision to remove Huawei almost as if it was a success of the process. Will she acknowledge that these billions of pounds are growth that we will not get, that they are investment in this country that has been wasted, and that it has put the country in danger in the process? Will she further acknowledge that there might be others who are able to help in the process of avoiding a repeat of what is a huge debacle?