Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament: Special Report

Lord Tyler Excerpts

Monday 4th November 2019 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I am sure that the sense of urgency expressed by the House, including by the noble Lord, will not be lost on my colleagues in government and I shall ensure that the correct messages are sent through.

[Lord Tyler (LD)]

My Lords, the Minister has said that the report is to be published “in due course”. Can he give your Lordships’ House an absolute assurance that that does not mean that it will be kept back until after polling day? As the noble Lord, Lord Butler, has rightly said, it would be outrageous if the public were not given the reassurance that we hope is in the report, long before polling day. Does the Minister recall that in the Queen’s Speech, the Government committed themselves to,

“protect the integrity of democracy and the electoral system in the United Kingdom”?—[Official Report, 14/10/19; col. 3.]

Can he think of anything more important than to reassure the nation at this stage that our electoral system is not to be undermined by foreign interference?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, these are indeed extremely topical and important matters and I do not depart in the least from the premise that the noble Lord has articulated. In the UK, we have seen no evidence of successful interference in our democratic processes, but we are not complacent. We know that there are those who would wish to do us harm and try to divide us, but I can say without equivocation that that will always be met with a robust response. My right honourable friend the Prime Minister is no less committed to ensuring the integrity of the electoral process than is the noble Lord himself.