Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Danny Beales and Ian Murray

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

T4. This summer, 1.5 million people attended London Pride, a celebration of love, freedom and diversity. At the same time, though, discussions on GB News compared Pride and LGBT people to bestiality and even paedophilia. There have now been 12,000 complaints to Ofcom about this. Does the Minister agree that these sorts of comments have no place on an apparent news channel? Will she assure me and those who have complained that Ofcom will be effective in challenging hate speech on television?

[The Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Ian Murray)]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this incredibly serious question to DCMS questions this morning. There is no place for homophobia or prejudice in our society, and the media has a duty to uphold the highest standards, not polarise or divide. I understand that Ofcom is investigating whether the programme has breached broadcasting code standards, and I expect it to do so without fear or favour. Through our media Green Paper, we are considering how to ensure Ofcom has the right powers to protect audiences and regulate TV services in the future. We have a proud free media and free press in this country, but that does not come without responsibilities, and GB News should be thoroughly ashamed of itself.

Life Sciences Investment

Debate between Danny Beales and Ian Murray

Thursday 11th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

At this stage, I am not aware that there will be any downside to the entirety of the ecosystem that revolves around the King’s Cross area of London. This decision has obviously come very late to the Government, and we will work with MSD on the future. However, as we have heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham (Dr Sullivan), there is a very bright future for this particular cluster, and for all the other clusters we have heard about from other Members across the Chamber this morning.

[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

For transparency, I should declare that I was the director of the Knowledge Quarter partnership in King’s Cross and cabinet member responsible for negotiating the MSD headquarters deal. It is disappointing news today. Turning to my current constituency, I hear from a number of life sciences and pharmaceutical companies that they have concerns about the previous Government’s levy under VPAG—the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access and growth—and how it is working in practice, in particular that it is focused on revenue, not profit, and does not take into account the differential level of R&D needed. Celltrion, a South Korean company in my constituency, highlights that biosimilar medications require a lot more investment than other forms of pharmaceuticals. Will the Minister or his counterpart meet me and Celltrion to discuss the biosimilar sector and how we can support it to grow?

[Ian Murray]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and would be happy to take him up on that meeting to hear about his experience directly. He raises the big issue around the legacy left by the previous Government after 15 years of underinvestment in medical pricing. The Health Secretary made a £1 billion offer to the pharmaceutical industry over the summer, which the pharmaceutical industry decided not to vote on, so it was withdrawn, which was disappointing. The last deal was done in 2023 under the previous Government. This is a long-term issue that must be resolved.