Oral Answers to Questions

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Tuesday 21st November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt]

We express repeated concerns to Israel about the treatment of children and ask it to adhere to UN principles on that. We continue to raise this matter of long-standing concern.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

12. What steps he is taking to tackle foreign online interference in UK political activity.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Boris Johnson)]

We have seen no evidence of any country successfully interfering with our robust electoral system, but we know, of course, that Russia seeks to undermine our institutions by using disinformation to further its ends, including through social media. The best guarantee against that is a free, open press and an accessible media.

[Mr Sheerman]

How does the Foreign Secretary square that with the comments made by the Prime Minister herself only last week at Mansion House? She said that she believes that there has been Russian interference in our political system. Will he do something about that? Does he not think it is a disgrace that not one member of the security services has been interviewed by any Committee of this House about what the real facts are?

[Boris Johnson]

When the Prime Minister spoke of “meddling in elections”, as she did in her Mansion House speech, she was referring to examples outside the UK. The hon. Gentleman will recall that she made that clear at Prime Minister’s Question Time on 15 November.