Rewiring the State

Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for his words and praise. My grandfather was a firefighter in Chesterfield, so I join my hon. Friend in sending our thanks and gratitude to the heroes who kept us safe over the summer. He is right to draw attention to the fact that so many fires, which did not even make the news, were being quietly fought by them on our behalf. We will ensure that their voice is central to the work we do as we prepare for future summers.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

Following on from that point about firefighters, one of the wildfires among the major incidents the First Secretary of State referred to in her statement was in Cambridgeshire at Holme Fen nature reserve, to which up to 20 fire engines responded, along with 150 firefighters from as far afield as Merseyside, Durham and Devon and Somerset. My thanks go to all those firefighters who assisted Cambridgeshire fire and rescue in tackling that dangerous peat fire.

Will the First Secretary of State explain how the £100 million that she referred to will be allocated? Is it a one-off payment, or is it an uplift to the current funding formula, which needs to be updated for fire and rescue? Will she give a little more detail on the asset refresh programme and whether the assets that firefighters are crucially in need of will be allocated quickly?

[Louise Haigh]

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s support for the fire service. The £100 million has already been allocated, so that will have been done under the existing funding formula. Future allocations will be determined at the Budget.

National Security

Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts

Thursday 14th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

My hon. Friend raises an important point, and let me reiterate the Government’s position that the targeting, harassment and coercion of anybody here in the United Kingdom, including, of course, the Iranian community and journalists, is completely unacceptable. On what we are doing to counter the threat from Iran, we have now sanctioned more than 550 Iranian individuals and entities and have placed the whole of the Iranian state, including Iran’s intelligence services, the IRGC and MOIS—the Ministry of Intelligence and Security—on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme. Importantly, we have also rolled out new training for all frontline police officers on state threats, so at a localised level—of course, this will be the case in Scotland as well—police forces have the insight and knowledge to identify and investigate the type of activity that he describes. But I give him an assurance of the seriousness with which we treat it, and we will stand firmly against the threat from Iran.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

I want to touch on state threats. I appreciate what the Minister said about the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme as it applies to China. Could he inform the House whether Bill Yuen and Peter Wai were registered on FIRS for their role as Chinese state employees? On Russia, on 5 May the Amur-class repair ship PM-82 was spotted around the Galloper wind farm. What steps is he taking to ensure that our offshore infrastructure is protected from Russian-state threats?

[Dan Jarvis]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for his continued advocacy of FIRS. It is an important operational tool. It is still relatively new—it will be a year old on 1 June—and it is the Government’s intention to bring forward an annual report to update Parliament on the progress that we are making with it. I cannot get into the specific registration of the two individuals that he has referenced, but I can tell him—I think he will know this, because he knows a lot about FIRS, but I say it for the benefit of other Members—that countries are considered separately, and decisions are made on a robust evidence base. I am not able to get into speculation about what further decisions may be made, but those will be communicated to Parliament in the normal way.

On the hon. Member’s second point about our wider resilience, that relates to my Cabinet Office responsibilities, but I give him an assurance that we are working across Government, including with partners in the Ministry of Defence, to guard robustly against the kind of threats that he describes.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd April 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Scotland deserves safer streets and more visible policing. In England and Wales, Labour has put 3,000 more neighbourhood police officers on our streets, delivering a named police officer for every neighbourhood. The SNP Government have already had two decades and record funding to invest in public services. If they knew how to do it, they would have done it by now, but they have not.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

Q4. We know that the Prime Minister has been playing fast and loose with ministerial appointments in his chumocracy, so I want to ask him about the first one. [Interruption.] Labour Members’ boos mean nothing to me; I have seen what makes them cheer. Jonathan Powell was appointed the Prime Minister’s special envoy to the British Indian Ocean Territory on 6 September, but throughout August he held meetings with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials and was given access to classified information, including a minute of a meeting between the Prime Minister and the then Foreign Secretary, who is sat next to him on the Front Bench. My question is very simple: when was Jonathan Powell appointed the Prime Minister’s special envoy to the British Indian Ocean Territory, and what security clearance did he have upon that appointment?

[The Prime Minister]

Let me say that Jonathan Powell is doing an excellent job for this Government. He is respected across the world, and is playing a significant part in dealing with the huge challenges that we face.

Security Vetting

Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts

Monday 20th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

They acted entirely appropriately. They came across the information as part of the Humble Address exercise. They took legal advice on who it could be disclosed to, and disclosed it to me as soon as they got that legal advice. That was the right thing to do.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

On 4 February, Peter Mandelson was notified by the appointments and interchange officer from the FCDO that he required STRAP-level access in addition to his DV. He started the role on 10 February. On what date did Peter Mandelson receive STRAP-level access?

[The Prime Minister]

I do not know the precise date, but I will endeavour to find out.

Middle East

Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts

Monday 13th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. Clearly, Lebanon should be included in the ceasefire. These attacks must stop, and we need to be really clear about that. We will work with our allies on both those issues.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

We know that the defence investment plan was originally due to be published last year. As it is a 10-year plan, will it be a 10-year plan from publication in this financial year, 2026-27? Does that change the cost envelope? Is it a 10-year plan or a nine-year plan in terms of how it is being financed?

[The Prime Minister]

It is a 10-year plan, and it mirrors our strategic review. It sits alongside the defence spending commitments that we have made and are implementing with the 2.5%, and the commitments that I made at the NATO summit last year.

Hatzola Ambulance Attack

Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts

Monday 23rd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

I completely agree with the right hon. Member. It is beyond abhorrent that anyone would seek to target ambulances providing an extremely important and valuable public service in the way that we have seen this morning. She is also right to make the wider point about ensuring that no community is left behind. While the attack this morning has taken place in London, as I mentioned in my earlier remarks, we saw a terrible terrorist attack take place in Greater Manchester last October. Wherever we have Jewish communities in our country, we need to ensure that the police and the range of other organisations provide the support that is obviously now required.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

In a previous incarnation, I was fortunate enough to be a parliamentary candidate in Hackney. I was invited to meet Hatzola in Stamford Hill, and I was blown away by its incredible work. The fact that Hatzola is integrated into the London ambulance service and provides such a vital community resource is extremely commendable, and I pay tribute to it.

I am conscious that emergency workers are incredibly vulnerable at the best of times. Given that Hatzola is liveried and clearly marked as effectively Jewish, what steps is the Minister taking to mitigate the additional vulnerabilities of the Hatzola crews going forward to ensure that they are not targeted in any type of copycat attacks?

Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address

Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

The hon. Member is right to remind the House that while we have important questions about process, documentation and the appointment and dismissal of civil servants, above and beyond all of that was the most horrifying set of crimes that are imaginable to any of us in this House. The fact that they were able to happen in the way they did reminds us that we have much further to go to deal with male violence against women and exploitation of women by the powerful and rich. That is why the Government are committed to our strategy on violence against women and girls, and it is why we will of course comply with any investigation where we can be of assistance, to ensure that justice is being delivered for those victims.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

What level of security clearance was Peter Mandelson granted prior to his appointment as ambassador to the United States?

[Darren Jones]

I can confirm to the House my previous answer about the process for his appointment, agrément, and the security vetting that then took place. For particular details, I will need to refer the hon. Member to the Foreign Office.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

The Cabinet Office and Government Departments are in the process of concluding their business planning processes before the start of the new fiscal year, so an update will be available very soon.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

The National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell commenced his role on 2 December 2024, and his appointment was announced on 8 November 2024. I appreciate that the Minister will not have this information to hand, but I would be grateful if he could write to me and confirm when the National Security Adviser was granted security clearance for that role.

[Darren Jones]

I will take the question away, Mr Speaker.

China: Foreign Interference Arrests

Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts

Wednesday 4th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

The right hon. Member is right to raise the importance of the work done by the Electoral Commission. It is a key member of the defending democracy taskforce, and we work closely to ensure that it has the powers it needs to do the difficult job asked of it. She will obviously understand that the Rycroft review and the Representation of the People Bill will not provide legislative change in advance of elections that are taking place in May. That is precisely why we are working closely with the devolved institutions, and we will be having further contact with them over the coming weeks, to ensure that the important elections that are taking place around the country in May do so in a fair and free environment. That is what we all want to see.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

Will the Security Minister confirm whether the partner of the sitting Labour MP arrested on espionage charges of spying for China had a parliamentary pass?

[Dan Jarvis]

I am disappointed that the hon. Gentleman did not ask me about FIRS, because he has consistently done so and I always enjoy our exchanges. He will understand that I have come here at extremely short notice to provide an update to the House, and I cannot get into the operational details of matters that took place just a few hours ago.

Middle East

Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts

Monday 2nd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We have already put extensive sanctions in place, and we keep the situation under constant review.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

I would like to come back to the drone attack on RAF Akrotiri and the alarming ease with which the Iranian regime was able to penetrate our defences and strike the airfield. That very much suggests that it has little by way of counter-uncrewed aerial systems capability and nothing by way of No. 2 Counter UAS Wing squadrons to deter such attacks.

Will the Prime Minister confirm what type of drone struck the airfield? Will he also confirm the origin of that drone? Did it fly from Iran all the way across Israeli airspace to strike Cyprus, or did it come from Hezbollah in Lebanon? Given that we have been attacking Daesh targets this year via Operation Shader, will he strike back at Hezbollah if it proves that the drone came from Lebanon?

[The Prime Minister]

I reassure the hon. Member, and through him everybody in Cyprus, that protective measures are in place. His description was not right, and it is not helpful to those living in Cyprus to cast it in those terms. [Interruption.] It really is not. As he would expect, extensive measures are in place—both US measures and UK measures—for the defence of Cyprus and the airbase there. It is very important that I make that absolutely clear.