Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dan Jarvis and Susan Murray

Thursday 4th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

20. What steps he is taking to improve national resilience.

[The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Dan Jarvis)]

The Government published the resilience action plan in July to set out their strategic approach to improve the UK’s resilience to the full range of risks that we face. One of the actions we have taken is to conduct the largest ever pandemic exercise, which involved all regions and nations of the UK and thousands of participants.

[Dan Jarvis]

I join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to the important work of the UK Hydrographic Office and its vital contribution to the UK’s maritime security. The Cabinet Office plays a central role to cohere cross-Government efforts to secure the UK’s undersea infrastructure. Given the growing prominence of this issue, lead Departments are engaging with industry partners, and we will continue this inclusive approach as we support the Royal Navy to take a leading role to secure our undersea infrastructure.

[Susan Murray]

The Russian spy ship Yantar has been probing our infrastructure in the North sea. While doing so, its crew used high-powered lasers against an RAF plane monitoring their activity, threatening the lives of our pilots. What steps are the Government taking to secure our critical strategic infrastructure in the North sea and to ensure clear and serious consequences for Russia when it carries out aggressive and dangerous military activity off our coasts?

[Dan Jarvis]

The hon. Lady and the House will understand that I am limited in what I can say in my response, but I can assure her that Russia is a top national security priority for the Government, and UK law enforcement has recently secured a range of convictions in this area. I will have more to say about this later today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dan Jarvis and Susan Murray

Monday 15th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and the APPG for their work. The Government are absolutely committed to tackling high street money laundering to deliver safer streets and economic growth working closely with partners through multi-agency initiatives like Operation Machinize. We have strengthened the powers under the Economic, Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, and have funded 475 new roles under the anti-money laundering and asset recovery programme to detect and investigate offences.

[Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

T3. Just over a week ago, nearly 1,000 peaceful protesters, including priests and pensioners, were arrested in a single day for opposing the ban on Palestine Action, yet over the weekend, at the Unite the Kingdom protest, 26 police officers were injured and 25 arrests were made. Does the Home Secretary agree with my constituents in Dunbartonshire that this raises serious questions about proportionality, and will she consider reassessing the proscription of Palestine Action?

[Dan Jarvis]

Any attack on the police is utterly shameful. The right to peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy—it is a freedom that we protect fiercely—but Palestine Action’s activities have met the thresholds for proscription established in the Terrorism Act 2000. The organisation has conducted an escalating campaign, involving sustained criminal damage to national security infrastructure, intimidation and alleged violence, including the use of weapons resulting in serious injuries to individuals.