P&O Ferries

Debate between Lord Wallace of Saltaire and Lord Fowler

Tuesday 5th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)]

I call the noble Lord, Lord Loomba. Lord Loomba? No? I call the noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD) [V]]

My Lords, the Government have said that taking back control is an important dimension to everything they believe in and that levelling up is their next major priority. I am sure that the Minister is aware that, in Yorkshire, tourism and food exports are fundamental to the economy and that over half its food exports go to the European continent. Is she really sure that we should leave decisions such as this to a company in the Gulf and that public interest does not require the Government to fulfil their commitment to levelling up the north by keeping links such as this going?

European Union: Future Relationship

Debate between Lord Wallace of Saltaire and Lord Fowler

Tuesday 28th April 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Speaker]

I call the noble Viscount, Lord Ridley. No? I call the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, then. No? Then I call the noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, seven months ago the Government presented to Parliament the political declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship which did not talk about a free trade area, but rather about,

“an ambitious broad, deep and flexible partnership”

including

“foreign policy, security and defence and wider areas of co-operation.”

The paper presented to us by the Government in February set out a much narrower free trade agreement, as the Minister has just said. It says nothing about a wider partnership. Should we now accept that the declaration made last October is no longer a reference point for the Government’s negotiations?

Leveson Report

Debate between Lord Wallace of Saltaire and Lord Fowler

Monday 1st July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, I have that section of the Leveson report in front of me. I note how much the fact and general nature of any discussion of media policy issues at these meetings raises questions of how far we go in that direction, including—as is discussed in my briefing—whether the exchange of text messages ought to be included in that. As the noble Lord will know, so far we have included the existence of meetings and the record of meetings between January and the end of March this year, which should be published within the next week.

[Lord Fowler]

My Lords, is not the position on Leveson that almost four months ago, in March, Parliament overwhelmingly agreed a way forward that protected the freedom of the press but also protected the public from the abuse of press power? Is the Minister aware that many people are suspicious of the long delay in implementing those proposals? We believe that we have had the debate and that, basically, we should now just get on with it.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, the Government are well aware of the strength of feeling on all sides. Some elements of the agreement of 18 March have now been implemented, as the noble Lord will know, including within the Crime and Courts Bill and the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill. The noble Lord will also know that on 13 April the Press Standards Board of Finance petitioned the Privy Council with its own draft royal charter, which is now being considered. When it has been considered, the conclusions will be published, and the question of the submission of the Government’s own royal charter will come up again.

Telephone Hacking

Debate between Lord Wallace of Saltaire and Lord Fowler

Wednesday 6th April 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Fowler]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the evidence of telephone hacking by newspapers, and what action they propose to take.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, the task of assessing evidence of potentially unlawful activity is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. The Metropolitan Police, as noble Lords will be well aware today, is currently conducting an investigation into allegations of telephone hacking and it would be inappropriate to comment or speculate on any particular aspects of that active investigation pending its outcome.

[Lord Fowler]

My Lords, leaving aside the two arrests yesterday, is it not already clear that there has been a total abuse of power involving some parts of the press in this area? Have we not also seen a five-year delay in investigation, a public dispute now taking place between the DPP and the Metropolitan Police, and the utter failure of any system to prevent such wrongdoing? Will the noble Lord give an assurance that, once criminal proceedings are complete, there will be an independent inquiry into what has happened and how scandals of this kind can be prevented?

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, on reading the newspapers this morning, I wondered whether the noble Lord has the power of the curse of Gnome, given that every time he puts down a Question in this House something moves in the investigation. He raises some broad questions about the future relationship between the press and politics and it is fair to say that we will need to return to those questions once current investigations are complete. The relationship between the press and the Government rests on the idea that a free press in a democracy is free but should be responsible—just as bankers in a free market ask for light regulation, with the expectation that they will also behave responsibly. Newspapers, like bankers, have not always been as responsible in relation to their obligations as they might have been in recent years.

Telephone Hacking

Debate between Lord Wallace of Saltaire and Lord Fowler

Tuesday 1st March 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Fowler]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will set up an inquiry into telephone hacking in the United Kingdom and how it can be combated.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, individuals and businesses are responsible for protecting their own data and communications. Mobile phone operators already offer ways of protecting access to voicemail. In addition, the police will investigate unlawful activity and work with the CPS to bring prosecutions where appropriate. The Metropolitan Police are conducting a new investigation of evidence relating to the News of the World and the CPS is conducting a comprehensive assessment of all material in the possession of the MPS. A number of inquiries are, therefore, under way.

[Lord Fowler]

Obviously, my Lords, any criminal charges must be disposed of first, but is it not the case that we now know that the victims of phone hacking include members of the Royal Family, a former Prime Minister, a former Deputy Prime Minister, several serving Members of Parliament and many others? Is not this kind of organised intrusion entirely indefensible? While it may be true that, for some unaccountable reason, parts of the press do not seem to be very keen on an inquiry, there is in reality no other way of discovering the extent of the abuse or what can be done to prevent it.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Akers announced on 9 February that she recognises that she faces,

“clearly a major task with a considerable amount of work to be done which will take a significant amount of time and resources”.

I understand that she has met a number of those whose names have appeared in the investigation, including Members of this House, and that she will continue to work on that. Perhaps I should also mention that the Press Complaints Commission has set up its own phone-hacking inquiry.

Telephone Hacking

Debate between Lord Wallace of Saltaire and Lord Fowler

Thursday 27th January 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Fowler]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent telephone hacking.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, the intentional, unauthorised interception of communications in the course of their transmission is illegal under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. The police are responsible for the investigation of unlawful interception, including telephone hacking, and the Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for the prosecution of such cases.

[Lord Fowler]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply. Does he remember the Watergate scandal, in which one brave newspaper protected the public interest? Has not exactly the opposite happened in the phone hacking scandal, in which one newspaper—and possibly others—has not exposed injustice but instead directly conspired against the public? Does he agree that after any further criminal proceedings there will be a need for a full-scale inquiry to ascertain what happened and how the public can be protected?

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, the House will appreciate that this is a topical Question that is almost too topical for me to be able to answer—I am up to date with the “Today” programme but not entirely up to date with what may or may not have happened since. Noble Lords will be aware that the Metropolitan Police announced yesterday that, in light of the fresh information supplied by the News of the World, the police will conduct a new investigation into phone hacking allegations. The investigation will be led by the specialist crime directorate, which is a different unit within the Metropolitan Police from that which carried out the original investigation. The investigation will be led by Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers. In addition, the Director of Public Prosecutions announced earlier this month that a comprehensive assessment of all the material in the possession of the police in relation to phone hacking would be carried out by an independent reviewer, Alison Levitt QC.