Debates between Liam Byrne and Ian C. Lucas during the 2017-2019 Parliament

Wed 9th May 2018
Data Protection Bill [Lords]
Commons Chamber

3rd reading: House of Commons & Report stage: House of Commons

Data Protection Bill [Lords]

Debate between Liam Byrne and Ian C. Lucas
3rd reading: House of Commons & Report stage: House of Commons
Wednesday 9th May 2018

(6 years, 7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Data Protection Act 2018 View all Data Protection Act 2018 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: Consideration of Bill Amendments as at 8 May 2018 - (9 May 2018)
Liam Byrne Portrait Liam Byrne
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Actually, it is not wrong to conflate press regulation with these matters, because the purpose of press regulation, in case the hon. Gentleman has not spotted it, is to try to stop such offences happening again. That is how public policy tends to be made in this country.

Ian C. Lucas Portrait Ian C. Lucas
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Is it not extremely relevant that one of the main aims of Leveson 2 was to investigate the relationship between the police and the press, because the police are the people who look into illegal acts and there has been evidence in the past of corruption involving the exchange of information between the police and the press, some of which has affected how Government Members have been presented? Independent-minded Members of the House should be looking into that, not suppressing it. Is it not right that that is looked into?

Liam Byrne Portrait Liam Byrne
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My hon. Friend is precisely right. We heard a couple of different arguments from the Secretary of State this afternoon, but they boil down to this: “Inquiries are expensive and time consuming, and officials have a lot of better work to do, unless you live in Northern Ireland, in which case we will crack on with the job now.”