Andrew Murrison
Main Page: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)Department Debates - View all Andrew Murrison's debates with the Cabinet Office
(1 day, 10 hours ago)
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Dan Jarvis
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his remarks, which I know will be appreciated in the Jewish community. He is right to raise the considerable concern in every corner of the House about the online threat. I hope he sees that we take it incredibly seriously. A lot of work is under way, led by the defending democracy taskforce, and he will know that we have commissioned Philip Rycroft to conduct a review of this area. The Online Safety Act 2023 will provide some protections, but the Government have been crystal clear that if those protections are insufficient, we will have to do more.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
Among the many reviews that he cited, the Minister mentioned Jonathan Hall’s review, which is getting a bit long in the tooth. Surely, given the events in north London and the middle east this month, its recommendations should now be expedited, as there appears to be cross-party support for the concept that the IRGC should be proscribed. Why can the Wagner Group—a state-linked entity—be proscribed, but the IRGC cannot, even without changing the Terrorism Act?
Dan Jarvis
The right hon. Gentleman makes a good point. Jonathan Hall, who has done a lot of good work in this area, made recommendations, which the Government have accepted. We are looking closely at the best way to provide the legislation that he recommended. I take the right hon. Gentleman’s point about urgency. As a very experienced Member of this House, he will understand that I would be in a lot of trouble with the Leader of the House if I started speculating about future legislation. However, the Government have committed to bringing that forward, and we will do so as soon as we can.