Labour Together and APCO Worldwide: Cabinet Office Review
Baroness Kennedy of Shaws Excerpts(1 week, 4 days ago)
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Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Lord raises a genuinely important point that we have discussed in recent weeks. He will be aware that the elections Bill has now been published. I should declare that I have, historically, been responsible for a third-party campaign, HOPE not hate, and that, until the general election, I used to run Index on Censorship. The noble Lord will appreciate some of my concern about recent events. To be clear, the questions pertaining to the actions of Labour Together are a matter for Labour Together, not a matter for the Government. It is an independent organisation, subject to its own governance structures, and noble Lords will be aware that it has its own reporting arrangements. On the wider point, it is something that Members of your Lordships’ House will be discussing in great detail when the elections Bill is in front of us.
Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws (Lab)
My Lords, I cannot begin to express how appalled I am that attacks should have been made upon independent journalists investigating a matter which was a legitimate matter to be investigated by the media. I should declare immediately that I am on the high-level legal panel that advises the Media Freedom Coalition, a global coalition of 51 countries that are seeking to protect journalists. It is quite shocking that any person holding a leadership position should be attacking journalists, when we know that independent journalism is fundamental to democracy and our security, and absolutely something that this Government and any Government should be protecting. I really am concerned at how thin this investigation might have been—it did not go deep enough. The funding has been raised, and what the funding is about, but I am asking the representative on the Front Bench to explain to us how deep this investigation was. This goes to the heart of our democracy. Attacking journalists—good journalists—should never take place.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
My noble friend and I worked together when I was the chief executive of Index on Censorship, and in fact I was a member of the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists under the previous Government, which, under the current Government, is co-chaired by Jess Phillips MP and Steph Peacock MP. My noble friend will be aware that we announced yesterday that the Media Freedom Coalition will be co-chaired by the UK for the next two years. I appreciate and share many of her concerns. The investigation that is currently under way is about the actions of Josh Simons as a Minister. My noble friend will be aware that there are other investigations ongoing, outside government, related to the actions of APCO, and Labour Together obviously has its own governance issues to deal with.
Official Secret Act Case: Witness Statements
Baroness Kennedy of Shaws Excerpts(4 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Baroness makes the most important of points. One of the things that has been missing from conversations, including our own debate over the past week, is that people who some of us know extremely well have been targeted by a foreign state. Their lives, political careers and families have all been affected by these alleged incidents and by what has followed in the public space. There is now a duty and responsibility on us to make sure that those people are protected. With regard to the human rights activists, I know that direct conversations have happened and will continue to happen. We have been proactive in the guidance issued by MI5 and GCHQ, but we will work with everybody where they feel there is an additional security threat.
Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws (Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the charges were brought under the Official Secrets Act, which dates from the beginning of the 20th century, which is one of the reasons it was changed? Unfortunately, the charges were brought when it was still running and in existence. Certainly in the beginning, that Act seemed to require that someone was an enemy of the United Kingdom, whereas it has evolved that, quite clearly, a nation can be a threat to national security without having to be publicly deemed an enemy. Therefore, I say to the noble Lord, Lord Butler, that the repeated requests were being made by the Director of Public Prosecutions, not someone well versed in jury trials from his experience, because he wanted someone to say that China was an enemy. This Government and the previous Government were unwilling to say that in the current climate, where, for all kinds of reasons, we are seeking to have some sort of partnership with China on certain issues. Is that the position of the Government?
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Baroness invites me to question the independence of the CPS, and I am unlikely to do so.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I apologise if I misinterpreted what she said. The legal position is a matter for the CPS, and I am not a lawyer—much to my mother’s disappointment. As to why we updated the Official Secrets Act, the noble Baroness is right that it required the definition of “enemy”. There was a reason why Members of your Lordships’ House spent many hours debating the National Security Act and why we have new legislation.