Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 January 2026 to Question 100730, whether electronic messages held in the Private Office of the then Prime Minister on 28 August 2019 would ordinarily have been assigned subject classifications for meetings with external individuals.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The guidance in place in August 2019 has been published by the National Archives: https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/popapersguidance2009.pdf
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot dated 16 December 2025 on an FOI relating to a request to search for and provide copies of documents then held by the private office of the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson relating to a meeting with Peter Thiel on 28 August 2019.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Cabinet Office responded to the hon. Member’s request on 8 January 2026, within the statutory time limit.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December to Question 100721 on Boris Johnson and Peter Thiel, whether there is any (a) physical and (b) other form of record of the meeting between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Mr Peter Thiel on 28 August 2019.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The meeting is listed in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s diary, a hard copy of which is held by the Cabinet Office. This is the only physical record of the meeting that has been located.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) Palantir Technologies (b) other analytics contractors and (c) external data warehouses are being considered to support cross-departmental data matching under the digital ID initiative.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We expect the new digital ID to be designed, built and run by in-house Government teams, not outsourced to external suppliers. In the event any specialist external services or expertise are procured to support the delivery of new digital ID, this will be subject to all the usual competitive processes to ensure transparency, and value for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 98184, whether meetings held by the Prime Minister with external individuals are routinely assigned a subject classification for record-keeping purposes.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Guidance on management of records for official ministerial meetings is published on gov.uk, and available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-management-of-private-office-information-and-records/guidance-for-the-management-of-private-office-information-and-records-html.
The guidance in place in August 2019 is available in the National Archives: https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/popapersguidance2009.pdf
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance was guidance in place in August 2019 on keeping a written record of meetings between the Prime Minister and external individuals where public policy, procurement, or government contracts were discussed.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Guidance on management of records for official ministerial meetings is published on gov.uk, and available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-management-of-private-office-information-and-records/guidance-for-the-management-of-private-office-information-and-records-html.
The guidance in place in August 2019 is available in the National Archives: https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/popapersguidance2009.pdf
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department holds any digital records in relation to the meeting held on 28 August 2019 between the then Prime Minister and Mr Peter Thiel.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office does not hold any digital records relating to the meeting held on 28 August 2019 between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Mr Peter Thiel.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to 88031 of 6 November 2025 and with reference to FOI2025/16291, on what date does his Department plan to respond to the Freedom of Information Act by the hon. Member for Newton Abbot regarding meetings between Boris Johnson and Peter Thiel reported on 28 Aug 2019.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office replies to requests in line with our obligations under the FOI Act. The Cabinet Office has responded to the Hon Member’s initial request and follow-up request within the statutory time limit.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will (a) conduct and (b) publish a data protection impact assessment on plans to introduce digital ID.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We will ensure that a Data Protection Impact Assessment is conducted in line with legal requirements under Article 35 of the UK GDPR, before implementing digital ID. Decisions on publication will be taken in accordance with ICO guidance.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to ensure that (a) cloud hosting, (b) data processing and (c) other core components of the proposed digital ID system are under sovereign UK control.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Data associated with the Digital ID system will be held and kept safe in secure cloud environments hosted in the United Kingdom.
The Government will work closely with expert stakeholders to make the programme effective, secure and inclusive, including taking insights from previous IT projects where appropriate.