May. 01 2024
Source Page: A Warm Scots Future Equality Impact Assessment RecordFound: However, considering the hostility faced by LGBTQ+ people in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia, there
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what support is available to media organisations to (a) detect and (b) counteract foreign disinformation.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government takes the issue of information threats to national security seriously, and the UK has a strong record of working closely with a wide range of different stakeholders to tackle these risks.
We recognise the invaluable role of a free and independent press in providing accurate and reliable information. Government works to complement the efforts of our independent press sector through a number of initiatives to counter disinformation.
For example, in 2022 the Government provided the BBC World Service with £4.1m emergency funding to help it to continue to bring independent, impartial and accurate news to people in Ukraine and Russia and counter disinformation in the face of increased propaganda from the Russian state. The Government has also directly sanctioned Russia-backed state media organisations who spread disinformation, helping to prevent the most prolific and harmful sources of disinformation from spreading propaganda to UK audiences online.
The Government has also recently passed the Online Safety Act (OSA), which includes the Foreign Interference Offence as a priority offence. This will require social media companies to take action against a wide range of state-sponsored disinformation and interference targeted at the UK. Ofcom will produce guidance for providers on how they should fulfil these duties. The consultation for this guidance closed in March 2024 and Ofcom is currently finalising these codes, due to come into force at the end of 2024.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the potential of an international tribunal for delivering reparations to victims of the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to holding Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine and making Russia pay for the damage. We continue to engage in the Core Group established to explore options for a Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression. We support exploring the creation of an internationalised tribunal, rooted in Ukraine's jurisdiction, with international elements. Our support to the International Criminal Court and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is also ongoing. Alongside the EU and US, the UK has launched the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group to support Ukraine's domestic prosecutions of war crimes.
Apr. 30 2024
Source Page: DCMS Secretary of State addresses the Society of EditorsFound: Many of you in this room, like me, have been sanctioned by Russia for standing up for our principles.
Apr. 30 2024
Source Page: Technology is rapidly changing how we communicate, and amplifying the spread of mis and disinformation: UK statement at the UNFound: The UK reiterates its call for Russia to immediately release Vladimir Kara-Murza on humanitarian grounds
Found: Central and Eastern Europe and countries in Africa, including Russia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Romania
Oral Evidence Apr. 30 2024
Inquiry: UK-EU data adequacyFound: particularly acute now because we have had a judgment by the European Court of Human Rights, Glukhin v Russia
Written Evidence Apr. 30 2024
Committee: Treasury Committee (Department: HM Treasury)Found: Peters Solicitors LLP Dear Sir or Madam, Treasury Committee Inquiry: Are the UK’s financial sanctions on Russia
Apr. 30 2024
Source Page: UK sanctions corrupt politicians in Uganda who stole from vulnerable communitiesFound: individuals involved in serious corruption cases across the world, including Bulgaria, Lebanon, Moldova, Russia
Apr. 30 2024
Source Page: Prime Minister's keynote speech at the Society of Editors 25th Anniversary Conference: 30 April 2024Found: And we face an axis of authoritarian states… …Russia, Iran, North Korea, China… …who are united by