Chris Bryant MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is right. For that matter, I suspect that every single Member of the House will have had some kind of attempted cyber-attack, whether that is phishing or vishing or whatever it may be on their mobile phones, where something comes up that looks remarkably possible. Then you say to yourself, “Oh, no, HMRC probably wouldn’t ask me to do that.” I urge all Members, incidentally, to take their own personal cyber-security seriously, and the House provides facilities for that. One other thing that we can do is for all companies to follow the cyber governance code of practice and provide board training. The more that board members understand these issues, the better.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman is right on two points, and to take his point a little further, data is a wonderful thing—a gold mine, in many ways—but it is also a potential vulnerability. We must ensure that if we take people into a digital future, with digital ID cards—I am not saying that we are, but if we were to go down that route; or wherever we go, for instance with a digital driving licence, which we will have soon—we must ensure that it is safe, secure, and that people’s data is not imperilled. I do not know what the right hon. Gentleman meant about me surviving. I love him too.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  I laid out in my initial answer some of the things that the Government are already engaged in, such as the NCSC, which has had involvement with Jaguar Land Rover since last Wednesday. There are really good online aids that can help many companies work through how they can protect themselves better. Some of those things are relatively simple, but some are more complex; it depends on the size of the organisation. As I said, we have consulted on ransomware. As we have said previously, paying the criminals does not get us out of the hole; they are not to be trusted, and people should be extremely cautious. We do not recommend people paying ransoms in any circumstances. It does not solve the problem, and actually adds to the business model of the criminals, whom we want behind bars.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  Yes, I can assure my hon. Friend that we do that. Of course, I fully understand that this issue comes on top of other issues for JLR this year, not least tariffs in the United States of America. As my hon. Friend knows, the Prime Minister was very personally engaged in making sure that we got a better deal with the United States, and was able to announce that in a JLR factory. I know that some voluntary redundancies are going through the normal business process at JLR at the moment; that has nothing to do with this cyber-attack. However, I can give my hon. Friend the assurance he asks for.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  It is interesting, is it not? My hon. Friend makes a very good point. There is a balancing act for us to achieve: we do not want to overburden businesses with requirements, but we want to make sure they take every action to ensure they are properly protected. I will write to my hon. Friend if I have got this wrong, but my understanding is that those companies are not presently included. I am afraid that she will have to wait for the Bill, but our intention is that it will directly relate to things like energy and water supply—drinking water and things like that. As I say, it is a balancing act, trying to make sure that industry has the freedom to operate as it should while embodying the best practice. One other thing I will say is that all businesses, whether large or small, should avail themselves of the early warning tool available from the National Cyber Security Centre whenever they think that they may have had an attack. It is really important that we have a real idea of the prevalence of this problem across the whole sector, and that we are able to join up the dots between different incidents.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  That is the second time I have been asked whether this attack has come from overseas, although I suppose that is a slightly different question from one about state actors. Again, I am not going to prejudge the investigation—I can tell that the hon. Gentleman knows that, because he is smiling. He referred to UK companies, but were I speak to any of my counterparts in Europe, or in most countries in the world, I would find that they are going through exactly the same issue. Qantas, Pandora, Adidas, Chanel, Tiffany & Co., Cisco—all those companies have had major attacks over the past months, and unfortunately that is simply a part of modern business. It is a despicable practice and a set of criminal actions. We must prosecute those who are responsible and ensure that they go to jail for a very long time, so that we can protect our industry in the UK, and co-operate with other international agencies to ensure that we do the same around the world.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  First, I commend my hon. Friend on seeking this urgent question and you, Mr Speaker, on granting it. My hon. Friend makes the important point that Jaguar Land Rover is not only an iconic national brand, but a very significant employer—it employs 34,000 people in the UK, including in his constituency, and 39,000 worldwide. He is right that we need to ensure that cyber-security is something that every company in the land take seriously, and every public sector organisation. In my previous ministerial role I was conscious of the attack on the British Library, which was actually one of the most financially significant attacks heretofore, and it pointed the way for some of the other issues arising across the economy, which is why we have been keen to bring forward a Bill on this, as stated in the King’s Speech. We will introduce such a Bill “soon”—I think I can get away with that with the Chief Whip and the Leader of the House, although, in the words of Humpty Dumpty, when I use a word it means precisely what I choose it to mean, no more and certainly no less. As my hon. Friend says, there are serious issues that we need to address across the whole of the economy to ensure that we get this right. My hon. Friend pointed to one person; I point to another—Richard Horne, the chief executive officer of the National Cyber Security Centre—who recently stressed that the UK faces increasingly hostile activity in cyber-space. We simply cannot afford any degree of complacency in this. There are major criminals operating in this space, as well as some malicious state actors, and some 40% of companies in the UK reported last year that they had faced some kind of cyber-attack. It is a very important issue that we take seriously.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  The primary relationship is between my Department, because we have responsibility for businesses and making sure that they can prosper in the future, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, as represented by my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Kanishka Narayan) here, and the Minister for Security in the Home Office, but the hon. Member makes a good point. The MOD has an equal responsibility for ensuring that we are all secure. Mr Speaker, I am sure that some kind of digital identification service will be available for identifying the right MP to call.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for all the work that she and I did together, particularly on space, in my old job and in hers. She was an excellent Minister to do business with, and I slightly fear having her on the Back Benches as she is a very redoubtable person. Many suppliers, including Evtec, WHS Plastics, Sertec, OPmobility and a series of others, are in an even more complex situation than Jaguar Land Rover, and I will try to co-ordinate the activity that we are doing in our Department to ensure that we provide every possible support to them. I note the tone in which my right hon. Friend said that MPs were getting a half-hour Zoom call on Friday. I will try to ensure that all MPs get the support they need, so that they can do the job of reassuring their constituents. Earlier today I made that point forcibly to JLR, and as I say, I intend to have a meeting with its chief executive later this week. When I possibly can I want to keep MPs updated, either individually in constituencies, or the whole House.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has stumped me there. I do not have the faintest idea. I will have to write to him with an answer to that one.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  She is not; I will not welcome her to her new role, then—I welcome her to the Dispatch Box none the less. She asked a series of questions, and I will try to answer those that I can as precisely as possible. First, the shadow Minister asked when the NCSC was notified and engaged. It has been engaged since last Wednesday. We have an undertaking that when people get in touch with the NCSC, the response will be very immediate. The shadow Minister asked what engagement there is from the Government. The primary engagement is through the NCSC, which is fully engaged and devoted to the work. It is also in the public domain that the Information Commissioner’s Office was notified. I should clarify that that was not because JLR was certain that there had been a data breach, but it wanted to ensure that it had dotted every i and crossed every t, which is why it notified the Information Commissioner’s Office. The shadow Minister asked about a timeline for getting this resolved. I wish that I could provide one, but I cannot. I think she will understand why: this is a very live situation that has been ongoing for a week. I note the points that JLR has been making. As I say, there will be an invitation for all local MPs—my hon. Friend the Member for Widnes and Halewood (Derek Twigg) should already have had one—for a Q&A session on Friday morning, when JLR hopes that it will be able to provide more information. The shadow Minister asked what else we are doing. This summer, the Home Office undertook a consultation on our policy on ransomware. I am not saying that that relates specifically to this case—we do not know that yet and I am not coming to any foregone conclusions—but that is one of the things that we must address, and it was heartening to see resolute support from the vast majority of companies in the UK for our ransomware policy. Maybe we will come to that later. The hon. Lady asked whether I can say who is responsible. I am afraid that I cannot. I note what is in the public domain, but I have no idea whether that is accurate and I do not want to impede the investigation. She asked whether the attack was state sponsored. Again, I do not want to jump to conclusions, and I can neither confirm nor deny anything. She also asked whether the case is linked with that of M&S. Again, I cannot answer that as fulsomely as I would wish, simply because I do not know, and I do not think anybody has come to any secure decisions on that. In one sense, all cyber-attacks are linked, in that it is the same problem, which is relatively new. The previous Government were seeking to tackle it, and we are seeking to tackle it in broadly the same way. Some of the techniques used are remarkably old-fashioned, such as ringing up helplines, which are designed to be helpful. That is exactly the same as when News of the World was ringing up mobile companies and trying to get PINs to hack other people’s phones. This is an old technique. The new bit is that sometimes people use AI-generated voices, which are remarkably accurate and can lead to further problems. I am not saying that that is what happened in this case, but some of the patterns are across the whole sector.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  The right hon. and learned Gentleman makes a very good point about legislation that is somewhat out of date and needs renewing. That is one of the reasons why, as we stated in the King’s Speech, we will introduce a new cyber Bill. I see the Under-Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Kanishka Narayan), nodding. If we do not do that properly, I am sure that the right hon. and learned Gentleman will table an amendment to the Bill when it is debated.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  I am not sure whether the shadow Minister is in a new role—

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  Basically, every organisation in the country should be considering whether they might be the next under attack. It is possible that there might already have been an attempted attack on them. Obviously, iconic brands such as M&S and JLR are possible candidates in that sense, but I urge all organisations to take these issues seriously, because the costs are dramatic, both financially and in staff power.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  Ah, she is. I saw the nod. I am not sure how Hansard records a nod, other than the fact that I have now said it. The important point is making sure that everybody has an understanding that cyber-security is important to every single organisation, big or small, and the services of the state are there to help.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  I am tempted to say that it is too early to say, as the hon. Gentleman gave me that get-out clause at the end. The main thing I want to ensure is that all MPs have the information they need on a secure basis, so that they can provide reassurance to their constituents. I am sure that there will be all sorts of rumours spreading around, some of which may be very wide of the mark, and I want to ensure that JLR is able to provide information to everybody. We are going into recess next Tuesday; otherwise, I would have been more than happy to gather MPs to have these discussions in a private setting. It is probably best if we see how we go on Friday. I do not think that half an hour will suffice for a Zoom call with JLR; I will make that point to the chief executive.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is absolutely right that it is not just about big companies, listed companies or, for that matter, big organisations in the public sphere; it is also about much smaller ones, which may have all sorts of different attacks. I am not sure whether she is asking for financial support.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  Yes, all the agencies will be engaged to the fullest possible extent. As the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee said, we will bend over backwards and do everything we possibly can to ensure that this issue gets resolved as soon as humanly possible; I do not want to say when that will be, because I simply do not know. If the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir Andrew Mitchell) would like to pass on the details of the chief executive of WHS Plastics, I am very happy to have a call with them, and with others in the supply chain, later this week. It is often not just individual companies, but the whole supply chain that is affected. As for Tigger, I seem to recall that the final line in the song is: “the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is I’m the only one!”

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  In fact, the first of these big cyber-attacks was on the British Library, which is an arm’s length body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, so some of these lessons were taught immediately to Government. The hon. Member is absolutely right, and we need to make sure across every Department that not only is data—personal data and all other kinds of data—secure where it needs to be, if it is not open-source, but that cyber-attacks can be rebuffed, spotted and prevented at all costs. That is an ongoing piece of work between the different parts of Government. When we are able to bring forward the cyber Bill in the very near future—sorry, soon—I hope that we will be able to address some of these things and discuss them in the round in the House.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Mr Speaker. I fully recognise the anxiety and deep concern that employees at Jaguar Land Rover and across the supply chain will be feeling. The Government and the National Cyber Security Centre will do everything in our power to help resolve this as soon as possible. We are engaging with JLR on a daily basis to understand the challenges that the company and its suppliers are facing, and we are monitoring the situation closely. I have spoken to the company myself, and I will have a further meeting with the chief executive officer later this week. I understand that the company has also invited local MPs to a question and answer session this Friday. The National Cyber Security Centre has been working with Jaguar Land Rover since last Wednesday to provide support in relation to the incident. I am sorry that there is a limit to what I can say on the specifics because I do not want to prejudice the ongoing investigations. The cyber-security of the UK, however, is a key priority for the Government—crucial to protecting the public, our way of life and the successful growing economy. We have been taking significant action to help protect businesses against cyber-attacks. We are reducing cyber-risk across the economy by making technology more secure by design. That includes the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, introduced by the previous Government, which requires manufacturers to build security into the manufacture and operation of internet-connected devices; the software security code of practice, which sets out how vendors and developers should make their software more secure; and the AI cyber-security code of practice, which sets out how AI developers should design and operate AI systems securely. We are also providing businesses with the tools, advice and support to protect themselves from cyber-threats. That includes the cyber governance code of practice, which shows boards and directors how to effectively manage the digital risks to their organisations; the highly effective cyber essentials scheme to prevent common attacks, reducing the likelihood of a cyber insurance claim by 92%; and a wide range of free tools and support from the National Cyber Security Centre, including training for boards and staff, the “Check Your Cyber Security” tools to test IT systems for vulnerabilities, and the early warning system to get notified about cyber-threats to networks. I urge all businesses to take up these tools and improve their cyber-defences. It is not for me to announce future business of the House, but when parliamentary time allows the Government will introduce the cyber-security and resilience Bill to raise cyber-security standards in critical and essential services, such as energy, water and the NHS.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  No, I meant that every country in the world is increasingly susceptible, not just the UK. This is a growing business, and the worst thing we could do would be to feed that business model. I would urge caution about one thing. It may well be that we do not know all the incidents that have taken place, because understandably, lots of companies will not want to make them known publicly if they feel that they have managed to deal with the issue fairly swiftly. That is why, as I said, we consulted on the issue of ransomware earlier this summer, and I was gratified by the response we had from more than 70% of businesses.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  The evidence that my hon. Friend mentions related to subsea cables, for which I think the situation is robust. In fact, we had another cut to one of the subsea cables during the summer months; it was, I think, repaired within eight days. We are one of the best countries in the world at repairing subsea cables, but we are also one of the more vulnerable countries, because we are an island nation. I assure him that we three Ministers—the Under-Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Kanishka Narayan), the Minister for Security and me—will apply exactly the same diligence and lack of complacency to this issue as to the issue of subsea cables.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman makes a very good point about personal data. When I was the data Minister, that was one of the things I was trying to push very strongly—there is no point in trying to get people to give data if it is not then secure. That is the single most important part of what we have to do, not least because if people do not trust that their data is going to be secure, it is perfectly understandable that they are not going to surrender it. That does not just apply to Government, although it is very important in Government; it applies across all sorts of different companies. I slightly take issue with the right hon. Gentleman’s delineation of those three groups; I think there is just one, which is a bunch of criminals. Their intent sometimes mixes a desire for cash with a desire for some kind of spurious infamy, but I just think of all of them as criminals. As for my inimitable style, I can neither confirm nor deny it.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is on the Business and Trade Committee, which I will be before next week, I think. On ransomware, one of the questions is whether we know the full extent of what is going on in the UK. That is why we have suggested mandatory reporting. It is interesting that more than 70% of businesses in the UK agreed with what was in the consultation that the Home Office produced in the summer, and I hope that we can introduce further measures when the Bill comes forward. I have referred to some of the means of providing support to businesses up and down the land, but I am happy to fill my hon. Friend in with more details, if she wants to grab me afterwards.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack · Hansard source

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  We want to make sure that is the case. As I have said, I have spoken to Jaguar Land Rover, and I intend to have a further meeting with the chief executive later this week, though he is departing in November. Two new Ministers from the Department for Business and Trade are here. Our job and our absolute determination is to ensure that business can flourish in this country, because in the end, business largely pays the bills, keeps the lights on, keeps the NHS functioning, and keeps everything going. That is why we are determined to have a strong working relationship with businesses, in this and many other areas.