Investigatory Powers (Amendment)Bill [Lords]

Debate between Jim Shannon and Dan Jarvis

Report stage
Monday 25th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

The right hon. Gentleman speaks about these matters with a great deal of authority, not just as a member of the Committee but as a former Security Minister, and I think he has described the situation very well. I hope the Prime Minister is listening; I hope the Prime Minister accepts what I consider to be the reasonable and constructive invitation that has just been extended to him by the right hon. Gentleman; and I hope the Prime Minister does take the opportunity in the near future to sit down with the ISC and discuss what are, after all, very important matters.

New clause 2 would ensure that an annual report was published on measures in the Bill, and in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, to defeat and disrupt technology-enabled serious organised crime and technology-enabled threats to our national security. We tabled the new clause because we must ensure that the law is always one step ahead of those who seek to harm us. The police and the security services are not best able to protect us today with the laws to counter the threats of yesterday, which is why we support this Bill to update the 2016 Act, which is now eight years old, but there is an opportunity to go further. The annual report proposed in the new clause would help to ensure that any changes required to primary legislation relating to investigatory powers were identified and implemented as quickly as possible. That would strengthen our legislative framework on national security, and weaken the capability and resolve of criminals and our adversaries.

I think that this is a genuine opportunity for the Government to work better with, and to constructively challenge, telecommunications operators and the wider communications technology industry on the requirements to use investigatory powers—a process that would be separate from the new notices regime included in part 4. A statutory requirement to produce an annual report on investigatory powers to counter threats to our security and safety would strengthen national security, as well as strengthening the oversight and safeguarding of measures to keep us safe. Those are two principles that guide this Bill and the 2016 Act, and that is why we will seek to push the new clause to a vote later this evening.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I hope that this evening will end with a measure of agreement. On the subject of the tech companies, I understand from information I have received that Apple, techUK, the Information Technology Industry Council and the Computer & Communications Industry Association have expressed concerns. Is the shadow Minister aware of their concerns and what this means for their ability to administrate and do their work, and does he agree that what we have tonight is a consensus that protects not just them but ordinary members of society?

[Dan Jarvis]

I know that the hon. Member takes these matters incredibly seriously, and he has raised an important point. To be absolutely fair to the Minister and to his Department, I know that this is a matter that the Government have considered very carefully, and that there has been an extensive process of consultation with a range of tech companies—I have met a number of them myself—but I think it only fair to conclude that while of course there are important contributions to be made by tech companies to this debate, these are ultimately matters for the Government and the House to determine. Having said that, new clause 2 would provide a helpful and constructive mechanism for the Government, and we have tabled it in a genuine attempt to be helpful and to monitor very closely the significant challenges that our national security faces from serious and organised crime as a consequence of rapid developments in technology.

Operation Telic

Debate between Jim Shannon and Dan Jarvis

Monday 20th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

I am very grateful to Mr Speaker for granting me an Adjournment debate this evening, as we mark 20 years since British armed forces crossed from Kuwait into Iraq. Operation Telic—the Iraq war—had begun, and many lives would change forever. By its end in 2011, 179 members of our armed forces had made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and it is a solemn privilege to pay tribute to them tonight, and to all who served on Telic.

As a veteran of the campaign, I had the privilege of knowing some of the 179. I served two tours, from February 2003 as the adjutant of 3 Para, and then again in 2004 as a deployed staff officer from the Permanent Joint Headquarters. Twenty years on, it is understandable that differing views are still held on the decision to deploy military force in Iraq, and the role that the UK played, but I focus my remarks tonight on commemorating those who stepped forward to serve and on those who did not come home.

All conflicts have their own unique characteristics, and Telic posed a particular set of threats, not least the heat and the sand, which got everywhere, but also the terrifying prospect of chemical warfare. Thousands of veterans will remember what it was like deployed in the desert, as do I. Chemical warfare drills were practised as soon as members of our armed forces deployed to Kuwait at the start of 2003. We will all remember one simple, but deadly word, shouted three times: “Gas. Gas. Gas.” That was the signal to put on our respirators. In the intense heat on the hot sand, and often in pitch black, we kept them on for long periods while wearing thick protective suits. There were no complaints, because we knew that the threat was real, and we practised the drills again and again.

Outside of military and fitness training, church services were held and attended by believers and non-believers alike. Padres provided private counsel to those who sought it on what the burning cauldron of conflict might bring. Most of us kept our thoughts to ourselves, and cracked on as best we could. The camaraderie was comforting to us all, and we took pride in serving our regiments and our country.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. and gallant Member for bringing this debate forward. Does he agree that the 20th anniversary of Operation Telic is an opportunity to look at how we are treating veterans 20 years on? I think he is coming to this point, but the support can be lacking. Will he join me in thanking charities—I have many charities in my constituency—such as Beyond the Battlefield in Portavogie in my constituency? It has opened a café at its veterans centre to fund projects and support for veterans throughout Northern Ireland. It does an excellent job and reaches people who the other charities miss.

[Dan Jarvis]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who has long been a doughty champion for those who serve. I completely agree with the point he made about supporting the armed forces charities, which do extraordinary work supporting those who serve. I also completely agree with the point he made about veterans, and I will come to that point in just a moment in my speech.

I was reflecting on what life was like in the desert, and was about to make the point that contact with home was very limited, through the odd precious phone call and “blueys”—airmail letters. However, there was always the radio, and to this day, the theme played on the BBC World Service, “Lillibullero”, instantly takes me back to that time in the desert 20 years ago. Looking back, I remember the quiet fear about what was coming, but I also remember the resolute determination to do our jobs and to look out for our soldiers.

When British forces did finally cross the line of departure into Iraq, they would conduct themselves with extraordinary bravery and professionalism. There is not time tonight to do justice to all those courageous acts during Telic. Instead, I will list the awards for gallantry received between 2003 and 2011: 23 Queen’s Gallantry Medals, five George Medals, two Air Force Crosses, 18 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 85 Military Crosses, one Distinguished Service Cross, nine Royal Red Crosses, 15 Conspicuous Gallantry Crosses, 18 Distinguished Service Orders, three Orders of the Bath, two George Crosses and one Victoria Cross, awarded to Private Johnson Beharry of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment. Through those awards, all three branches of our armed forces were rightly recognised for their outstanding contributions.

Out of those decorated for acts of gallantry, some did not live to receive their awards—making the ultimate sacrifice for our country, thousands of miles away from home in Iraq. In total, 179 lives were lost, with families and loved ones left to grieve and to carry the pain of loss for the rest of their lives.

Falklands War: 40th Anniversary

Debate between Jim Shannon and Dan Jarvis

Monday 13th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

On 1 April 1982, the Argentine junta launched a full-scale invasion of a then little-known archipelago 8,000 miles from Britain in the south Atlantic ocean. The following day, their forces were in control of the entire islands and so began the Falklands war.

The Argentine dictatorship believed that Britain would be unwilling to liberate the islands, and the US navy believed any effort to do so would be a “military impossibility.” Despite the received wisdom, the UK assembled a taskforce at breakneck speed—the first since the second world war to use all elements of our armed forces. What followed were 74 days of extreme hardship, intense violence and unspeakable bravery. It is right we remember that collective sacrifice, 40 years on.

Thirty thousand sailors, royal marines, soldiers, airmen and merchant mariners took the long voyage south. Tragically, 255 of them did not make the return journey home. Many thousands more still live with the mental and physical effects of that bloody struggle. No matter what we think of the decisions that sent our people into conflict down the ages, whether to Gallipoli, Goose Green or Gereshk, we have a duty to support the men and women who step forward to serve in our armed forces and a duty to bear witness to their sacrifice.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

We are all indebted to the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. I have been contacted by two constituents in particular, one lives in Carrowdore and the other in Comber, who served in the Falklands—there are others, too—and who live with the trauma 40 years later. Last night’s television programme gave an example of that.

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is important to note this anniversary not simply for the families of the 258 British personnel who were killed and the 777 who were wounded but as a reminder to the residents of the Falkland Islands that they were and are worth our support? We will continue to support them for as long as they wish to be considered British and entitled to our defence support. We stand as strongly with the Falklands today as we did 40 years ago.

[Dan Jarvis]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I completely agree with the important point he has made, as I am sure all Members of this House will. Further to his point, and in deference to him as a good friend and colleague, I wish to take this opportunity to say that the contribution from our friends in Northern Ireland cannot be understated. I recently read about Sue Warner, a Belfast nurse who received a peace prize in Buenos Aires 40 years after serving on the SS Uganda, where she treated both British and Argentine personnel who had horrific injuries. That is a reminder of just how collective the Falklands effort truly was and of course of the contribution made by those from Northern Ireland.

There have been considerable recent efforts to ensure that the Falkland Islands conflict is properly commemorated, and I commend everyone who has contributed to that important process. I had the honour of attending a commemoration at Sheffield cathedral to mark the loss of HMS Sheffield and all those who perished aboard it. I was particularly pleased to see that Mr Speaker braved the south Atlantic ice and snow to take the opportunity to remember all of those who fought and died at the battle of Goose Green.

Levelling-up Agenda

Debate between Jim Shannon and Dan Jarvis

Wednesday 15th September 2021 Westminster Hall

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the Government’s Levelling-up agenda.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Robertson. I am grateful to see Members and the Minister here today. I would completely understand it if the Minister wants to keep her phone on. I am sure we all wish her well with the reshuffle. We will see what the next hour or so brings.

I declare an interest: I am a metro Mayor. I have always supported the Prime Minister’s intention to level up the country, but it is outrageous that the UK has the worst regional inequality of any comparable developed nation. The gap is stark, from life expectancy to income, from unemployment to education, from productivity to health, and covid is making it worse. That is not a small thing. It is an injustice—a stain on our country—and tackling it should be a matter of raging and persistent urgency, not some optional extra in the national political agenda. I continue to want to work with the Government to do that, but as the Minister knows well, it is not words that count but action.

To be fair, it is not that the Government have done nothing. I acknowledge the help that we have had through the transforming cities fund and the getting building fund, among others. There have been some welcome policy shifts too, such as devolving adult education, reforming the Green Book and creating the UK Infrastructure Bank, but tackling deep-rooted inequality requires a special sort of intervention. It demands scope, endurance, resources, a national strategy and local leadership.

So far, the Government have fallen well short. First, transformative ambition needs transformative resources. Instead, we have old money relabelled as new and distributed with more concern for politics than progress. The flagship levelling-up fund, worth £1.3 billion a year on average, replaces a local growth fund that was worth 14% more, and half its budget this year is taken from the towns fund. Even worse, the levelling-up fund puts the Chancellor’s Richmondshire constituency, ranked 251 out of 317 in England’s deprivation index, in a higher category of need than my constituency of Barnsley, which is ranked 38. That is no one-off. A third of English areas due to get funds are not in the top third of the most deprived regions.

Likewise, the shared prosperity fund is supposed to match the historical EU support that it is designed to replace, but EU funds were due to increase sharply this year, so many areas, including my own, will miss out. I ask the Minister: will the Government compensate us for that? Almost a third of the English areas selected to receive money under the SPF’s precursor programme, the community renewal fund, are not among the most deprived local areas. Almost all of them are entirely represented by Conservative MPs. Meanwhile, of the 45 places receiving a share of the towns fund spending, 39 are represented by Conservative MPs. The Public Accounts Committee found that the fund’s earlier selection process was not impartial.

We are starting to see a pattern develop, and it gets worse when we consider that these politicised, fragmented and inadequate funds also come against a major backdrop of cuts elsewhere. As we saw in the Chamber this afternoon, the Government are intent on ending the £20 uplift in universal credit, cutting income for 5.5 million families by more than £1,000 a year and taking billions out of the economies of more deprived areas. That of course follows the £15 billion of cuts to local government in the past decade, which has fallen hardest on the poorest areas.

The Government trumpet their spending through the national infrastructure strategy, but it is unclear how much will go to deprived areas and when it will arrive. What we do know is that the Government are wobbling in their commitment to two of the biggest projects in the north: HS2’s eastern leg and Northern Powerhouse Rail. For them to be postponed or scaled back would make any claim of concern for levelling up utterly risible. I ask the Minister to assure us today of the Government’s commitment to those two huge projects.

When the debate concludes, I will hit “send” on South Yorkshire’s bid for £660 million of city region sustainable transport settlement funding. If the Government want to end the long-standing bias in transport investment towards more affluent areas, I hope that they will back that bid in full, and those of other relatively deprived areas such as mine.

It is not just how much money and where it goes that matters; it is how it is spent. It is alarming that the Select Committee on Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy described levelling-up policy and funding as

“lacking in any overall coherent strategic purpose”

with little clarity about who is responsible, how progress will be measured or, indeed, what the objectives are.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing this forward. The Government’s policy of levelling up is to benefit all the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, we do not see that coming our way in Northern Ireland. We believe that, if it is a levelling-up agenda, we should benefit as well. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that there should be projects across the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to benefit us all, whether they are specific projects, or businesses that can qualify for projects that are happening elsewhere in the United Kingdom?