Social Media: Non-consensual Sexual Deepfakes

Debate between Liz Kendall and Stella Creasy

Monday 12th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

May I very much welcome what the Secretary of State is doing in proving that none of this is inevitable with the development of technology? She has just said that there is a concern that our legislation is behind, rather than ahead of, the curve. She knows that this issue is not just about Grok; it is about AI chatbots. I know that Baroness Kidron in the other place has brought forward legislation on that. Will the Secretary of State defend all those talking about content moderation and how we get this right in the future, including by standing up to Governments who are not free speech advocates if they bar those people from their shores?

[Liz Kendall]

Let me just keep to the point about AI chatbots. We are confident that some are covered by the legislation, but officials have told me that they believe some are not. I am currently working this issue through. I want to move swiftly, but I want this work to be effective, for all the reasons we have said. I am happy to meet with my hon. Friend to discuss that further.

Digital ID

Debate between Liz Kendall and Stella Creasy

Monday 13th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

Yes.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I appreciate the Secretary of State setting out the Government’s ambitions. I have to pick her up on something, though, because she said this policy would be free, but ultimately the taxpayer will have to pay for it. The costings that we have seen are about £1 billion to £2 billion to create the system and another £100 million each year to run it. We know the cost of a data breach: the Office for Budget Responsibility has suggested it could be 1.1% of GDP—in fact, our entire growth—were it to happen to the economy. Marks & Spencer, Jaguar Land Rover and Co-op have all shown us that. Can the Secretary of State therefore give us at least a ballpark figure for the capital and revenue costs that she envisions for what she has set out?

[Liz Kendall]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question. We also need to look at the potential benefits of this policy in savings from cracking down on fraud and making services more effective and efficient. Clearly, the eventual cost will depend on the design and build of the system, which is what we are consulting on. I am sure that she and many other colleagues will feed in their views.

Welfare Reform

Debate between Liz Kendall and Stella Creasy

Monday 30th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

I can indeed confirm that we have complied with all our legal requirements.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I do not doubt the Secretary of State’s commitment to getting this right. She will be very aware that, as it stands, the legal advice we have had is that these proposals will breach our obligations under the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. The previous Government did that, and we rightly challenged them on it. So that we do not make the same mistake, will she give a commitment to write into a Bill that these proposals will be compliant with that commitment to ensure that persons with disabilities have social protection and the enjoyment of that right without discrimination on the basis of their disability?

[Liz Kendall]

I simply say to my hon. Friend, who knows that I have deep respect for her, that I would not be making any changes that I believed were incompatible with the law.