Chris Bryant MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  It is true that this piece of the jigsaw in relation to sanctions policy lies across two Departments. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in charge of sanctions policy, and we in the Department for Business and Trade have responsibility for trade and export licences. That is why there has been a bit of a miscommunication between the two Departments. I have to tell the House that that is entirely my fault and nobody else’s, so if anybody wants to have a go at anybody, they can have a go at me. On the question about Europe, it is true that the European Union introduced its legislation faster than we did. It did it earlier, before the Iranian conflict came into play. That is one of the reasons why there has been some difference between us. Normally, we try to align ourselves all the way with the European Union and others, but I note that the United States has only today extended its waiver for another month, and I think I am right in saying that Australia and Canada have done something very similar to us. It has been standard practice when we have introduced these kind of sectoral sanctions to do so in a phased way because, apart from anything else, that makes it possible for UK businesses to accommodate themselves.

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  The one bit of the right hon. Gentleman’s remarks that I completely agree with is that we have handled this clumsily. That is entirely my fault, and I apologise to all hon. Members, because I think we have ended up giving the wrong impression of what we are trying to do. We are trying to strengthen the regime, not weaken it. We are not waiving any sanction. From today, and for the first time, we have legislation in place that means that it will be illegal to import Russian goods that have been refined in a third country, including India, Turkey and elsewhere. I disagree with the other points he made, but I am grateful for his nice comments about me.

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right that we need to ensure that these sanctions are not only implemented but effective. We need—I think the previous Government felt this as well—a constant ratchet or a whack-a-mole approach to tackling any new diversion there might be that Putin might take advantage of. He talked about jet fuel, and I am feeling a bit guilty because unfortunately last night I had to fly back from Strasbourg—that was just as well, because otherwise I would not have been able to answer the UQ. He made a good point, and we also need to ensure that the aviation industry in its totality is more cognisant of where it needs to get to on net zero.

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  I will try again. The point I am making is not the point the right hon. Gentleman thinks I am making. The point I am making is that, up until now, we have been doing precisely what he said. We have been allowing Russian oil processed in other countries to come into the UK without any impediment whatsoever. That is precisely what we are putting an end to. If he had stood up last week, the week before that, the week before that, or the week before that, and called for us to put an end to it, I would have had more time for the comments he just made.

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  I am sorry, but up until today it was perfectly legal for people to use Russian crude oil that had been processed in a third country and brought into the UK. The hon. Member is inventing a saga that does not exist.

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman makes an extremely good point. That is one of the reasons we thought it was important to phase the process. Because of the time lag, we needed to make it possible for businesses not to be caught in legal limbo, as it were, as a result of the sanctions coming into force today. It is probably best if I write to him with the details and put a copy of the letter before the House, because it might be useful to other business folk as well. We are providing additional information on the Government website so that people can understand precisely how all this operates.

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  Well, I apologise for the rhetoric and bluster, but it is my general way of doing things, so it seems a particularly cruel attack from my colleague! The serious point to make is that I am proud of what we are doing today. I am not hiding away from what we are doing, but we could definitely have communicated it better, and that is entirely my fault.

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  I completely agree with my hon. Friend, and that is the tenor of the conversation that has been happening. He will know that the Prime Minister has been chairing regular meetings to consider the impact of the situation in the middle east. This is undoubtedly one area where we had to take action to minimise the instability in the market so as to protect British businesses—which are already exposed to energy costs that are high enough, if not too high—and British families. He makes a good point; we should, of course, have these honest conversations with the public.

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  There are two things here. A set of sanctions comes into force today, including on oil and oil products processed in a third country. It is the first time that the UK has gone down that route. As I say, the previous Government chose not to go down that route, even though people were arguing for it. I think this will be an important new measure in ratcheting up the pressure on the Russian regime. At the same time, partly in recognition of the instability there may be in the energy markets as a result of the events in the middle east and the war in Iran—obviously, we have chosen not to take part in it—we have decided to implement these sanctions in a phased way, as many other countries have done, including Australia and Canada. That is why we have introduced these licences for diesel and jet fuel. As I have said, I want these licences to last as short a time as is possible and necessary to manage that market instability, and that is why we will review them as much as possible. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend as our trade envoy to Ukraine. We stand 100% beside our friends in Ukraine. Indeed, the package of sanctions we have introduced this time around is the toughest of any, and I know our Ukrainian friends have supported them.

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  I thought that the Liberal Democrats were in favour of moving towards renewables. Sorry, I may have misunderstood the question; if so, the hon. Member may wish to grab me afterwards. As I said, the problem about the headlines this morning was that some journalists saw half of the story, and not the whole story. That is entirely down to me, and is my fault.

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  I am terribly sorry; I am so fond of the right hon. Lady that I think of her in a commonplace way, or should I say a common-sense way? She was, of course, the Minister for common sense—although, despite that, she never took any measures to stop the import of Russian oil into the UK when she was a Minister. Oh dear.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Start-ups and Scale-ups: Access to New Markets · Hansard source

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  We want to build new opportunities for start-ups and scale-ups to export around the world. That is why we are providing tailored market advice, free training through our business academy, export finance and support on the ground in international markets.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Start-ups and Scale-ups: Access to New Markets · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman makes a really good point. I noticed that he was commending the Government for securing the free trade agreement with India, which previous Governments were not able to secure, and he did so generously. Mr Speaker, I may have misled the House previously by suggesting that the India free trade agreement would enter into force this summer, because I am very hopeful that it will actually enter into force this spring. The key thing is not just to have a free trade agreement, but to deploy it and make sure that businesses take advantage of that opportunity. Our two high commissioners—both in India and here—are absolutely essential to making that happen. I look forward to working with the right hon. Gentleman to do that not only in India, but in Ukraine, as I note he has been appointed to help Zelensky’s Government with reconstruction in Ukraine. I am the Minister for Ukraine reconstruction, and I hope we can work together to achieve that, too.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Start-ups and Scale-ups: Access to New Markets · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a really good point by raising th4e example of London Fashion Week. She is quite right that lots of businesses in Northamptonshire are working in this field. One key thing we do through NEWGEN is to provide support to people—including, in fact, some of those she mentioned, such as Erdem and Simone Rocha—to start finding new export markets overseas. We send people to Paris Fashion Week and to Pitti Uomo, and our creative industries are a really important part of how we intend to build on that in the future. To use the name of another business in her constituency, I think Weetabix is based there—and we want everybody to have three Weetabix for breakfast so we can really export around the world.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Start-ups and Scale-ups: Access to New Markets · Hansard source

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  We are trying very much to focus on the key sectors where we know we can really deliver, which is precisely what bringing together the trade strategy, the small business strategy and the industrial strategy is designed to do. I was delighted to be at the security and policing trade event down in Farnborough yesterday, and it was fascinating to see the small companies—SMEs make up a lot of that sector—that have really been supported by different Departments, including the Home Office, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Treasury, to scale up and take their product to market. I think I was able to persuade the Malaysian Government to secure quite a few contracts with British businesses as well.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Start-ups and Scale-ups: Access to New Markets · Hansard source

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  Of course, I am happy to meet the industry body and listen to its concerns, as we do all the time. However, I just want to make the point that at the moment the DBT is concentrating on taking what we do well in this country and really ensuring we have an opportunity to do it even better. That focus is a key part of what our trade strategy, our small business strategy and our industrial strategy are all about.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am happy to meet the hon. Member if she wants to take me through some of the specific issues in her constituency; I have done that for several hon. Members, and we had a roundtable last week to try to get the timelines down. Sometimes it is difficult. The median time in which we sort them out is 14 days, but if the hon. Member has problems, I am happy to tackle them with her.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Yes.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for standing up for the business in her constituency, and she is absolutely right. The Trade Remedies Authority is investigating, as she knows, and I urge industry to participate in that, although I cannot comment on the precise details of the investigation because it might eventually come to my desk. Importantly, we need to make sure that dumping is not acceptable, because it makes it impossible for British businesses to prosper. We will do everything in our power to make sure that we use the remedies available to us to protect British businesses.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I commend him for supporting his constituents. Equally importantly, there are many Scottish products in respect of which we need to ensure that British businesses can take the opportunities the India FTA affords, and build on those so that we can build strong British businesses. We also have geographical identification for Scotch whisky in Argentina. We need to build on these gains around the world.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Scottish Industry: International Promotion · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work he has done to make sure that the UK Government have delivered in his constituency. I am glad that he has raised the Lanarkshire AI growth zone, because it is really important in trying to make sure that the industries of the future are at the heart of the jobs of the future in Scotland. I look forward to the SNP welcoming this in the next few moments.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Scottish Industry: International Promotion · Hansard source

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  Promoting Scottish industry overseas is one of our prime objectives. Whether it is opening up new markets such as India for Scotch whisky, securing new beef opportunities in the United States of America, securing contracts for Scottish steel in new bridges in Ukraine, or promoting financial services around the world, we are on the case. I have even seen Tunnock’s Caramels in LuLu in Doha.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Scottish Industry: International Promotion · Hansard source

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  It is like an open goal, isn’t it, Mr Speaker? Sorry—you do not have a view. I believe that we achieve far more by our common endeavour than by going it alone. That is why I am a passionate supporter of the Union. Of course there are specific things about the Scottish economy that we want to drive forward. For instance, 54% of Scottish exports go into the European Union. [ Official Report , 13 May 2026; Vol. 786, c. 1WC.] (Correction) If we manage to secure the sanitary and phytosanitary deal that we are trying to negotiate with the EU at the moment, that will pay enormous dividends to Scotland that it would never secure were it entirely on its own. Separatism never works.

• 24 Feb 2026 · Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor · Hansard source

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  Yes, he left his post in, I believe, July 2011. It could not have come soon enough for many of us, and it is a regret to many that the Government were not able to listen faster and act faster at that time. What this whole sorry saga shows is that deference can be a toxic presence in the body politic. Of course we always seek to respect others, and we look for the best in others. There is another instance in that Adjournment debate that illustrates the generosity that we often show. The right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), whom I told that I was going to raise this, and who is a gentleman to his fingertips and always a very magnanimous fellow, asked: “Does the Minister agree that one reason why the Duke of York has considerable credibility is his distinguished record as a former member of the Fleet Air Arm who gave valuable service in the Falklands war? That shows a degree of commitment over and above any inherited responsibilities that he might be considered to have.” —[ Official Report , 3 May 2011; Vol. 527, c. 650.] Of course I understand the point that the right hon. Member was making back then, but the fear is that when deference tips over into subservience it can be terribly dangerous, because the victims are not heard, respected or understood in the same way as those with grand titles, and that—as the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton said—has implications for this House. The conduct of business in the House is entirely a matter for you, Mr Speaker, interpreting “Erskine May” and the Standing Orders with the Clerks. I only repeat the words of Paul Flynn in 2011, when he denounced what he called “censorship on hon. Members discussing an issue of great importance”. —[ Official Report, 17 March 2011; Vol. 525, c. 156WH.] I know that you too, Mr Speaker, would want to denounce such censorship. Let me issue one caveat about the motion. The Government will of course comply with the terms of the Humble Address in full—as I have said, we support the motion—but, as the House will know, there is a live police investigation of the former Duke of York following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The House will also be aware that following that arrest on 19 February, Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of the King. His Majesty emphasised that “the law must take its course”, and that the Palace would provide its “full and wholehearted support and co-operation”. The statement concluded with a commitment that His Majesty and the royal family would continue in their duty and service to the nation, and I am sure the whole House will support that sentiment. As the police have rightly said, it is absolutely crucial that the integrity of their investigation is protected, and now that these proceedings are under way, it would be wrong for me to say anything that might prejudice them. Nor will the Government be able to put into the public domain anything that is required by the police for them to conduct their inquiries unless and until they are satisfied. I am sure that the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton will agree with that point.

• 24 Feb 2026 · Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor · Hansard source

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  Well, yes, and I also think that the truth of the matter is that we probably need more Paul Flynns. I have always been a bit sceptical about independent MPs, but I have always been very much in favour of independently minded MPs, who are one of the backbones that really allow Parliament to function effectively. I love the Whips—of course I love the Whips—but there is a but. I will give way to the hon. Lady, and then I really do want to finish my remarks.