Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Andrew Snowden and Stephen Doughty(2 weeks ago)
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Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)
Last week, this feeble Government limped to this House to announce that their shameful Chagos surrender Bill was being ditched—a diplomatic failure entirely owned by this Labour Government. Our friends and allies alike around the world were left bemused by the deal that this Government came up with. This week, the Government have sent a team of officials to Mauritius. Can the Minister make it clear that that team have been told unequivocally to tell the Mauritius Government that the deal is dead, the UK will be sending no money to the Mauritius Government and the Chagos islands will be remaining British?
Stephen Doughty
With the exception of when I broke my ankle before Christmas, I have never limped to this House on any occasion. I came here with confidence to set out the reasons why this treaty was needed for our national security. Our officials engage regularly not only with Mauritius, but with the United States and other partners. This deal was of course welcomed by our allies, including our Five Eyes partners, so I simply do not accept what the shadow Minister has said.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Andrew Snowden and Stephen Doughty(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)
Iran is a cyber-menace that is committing digital warfare against democracies around the world and its own people. Most recently, it has cut its own citizens off from the internet to hide the scale of its atrocities. Do the Government have any plans to use their cyber-capabilities to take on Tehran in its moment of weakness, and how they will prevent Tehran from evading tariffs by using cryptocurrency?
Stephen Doughty
It was perhaps an unexpected elevation, but I welcome the shadow Minister to his new role, and thank him for his important question on a very serious matter: the threat from our adversaries. He is right to point out Iran, but there are many others who are attempting to damage our national security and hit consumers and individuals in the UK. He will understand that I will not go into operational details on any matter relating to our cyber-defences, but he can be assured that we keep the activities of our adversaries closely in mind, and we are doing all we can to defend this country against all threats, wherever they come from.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Andrew Snowden and Stephen Doughty(5 months ago)
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Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)
The whole House and country should rightly be concerned about cyber-attacks, from malign cyber-activity directed at MPs and the Electorate Commission, to Chinese companies linked to global malicious cyber-campaigns. When will this Government stand up to China and address this threat? When will they send a strong message to the Chinese Communist party by blocking its super-embassy application and finally placing China on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme?
Stephen Doughty
I have been very clear about just how seriously we take the activity from different states in the cyber domain, and its significance is growing. As I have pointed out, we are working closely with international partners. The hon. Gentleman will understand that I will not go into the detail of all our work on that, but I commend the work of our National Cyber Security Centre with businesses, individuals and this place to ensure that our resilience is in place. We will continue to work with international partners to counter these threats.