Chris Law MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

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

  More

  Thank you, Mr Speaker. Of course, I will always welcome the fact that Scotland punches above its weight, whether it be industries abroad or investment in Scotland. Indeed, under the SNP, foreign direct investment has been higher in Scotland over the last 10 years than anywhere else in the UK outside of London—something I would expect the UK Government to also celebrate. Instead, we learned through a leaked memo this week that the Prime Minister told senior Ministers of the Government to go against the wishes of the Scottish Government when taking decisions. Does the Secretary of State agree with the Prime Minister? Does he not agree that Scotland makes the best decisions when it is the people of Scotland who make those decisions, which will happen only when it becomes independent?

• 11 Mar 2026 · Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address Motion · Hansard source

  More

  Like all statements, it is not just what is in but what is left out. We learned today that the due diligence, which has not been spoken about in any detail in the statement, provided to the Prime Minister before Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, warned that it would pose a “general reputational risk”. This is not just about the Prime Minister sitting down and having a chat with Mandelson and not believing him. He was warned that this would pose a “general reputational risk”. My question to the Minister is very simple. Which failing does he think the Prime Minister suffers from: ignorance, arrogance or both?

• 4 Mar 2026 · China: Foreign Interference Arrests · Hansard source

  More

  The Government will be well aware that, through the united front, the Chinese Communist party has created a global network of individuals and organisations that act as a political weapon to isolate, neutralise or counter Beijing’s critics. Indeed, a Jamestown Foundation report published this month shows that the UK is one of the four most exposed countries, with over 400 united front-linked organisations identified here. Why do the Government continue to refuse to take the necessary action to protect the nations of these islands by placing China on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme? That scheme may be new, but if it is going to be useful, it needs to be used.

• 2 Feb 2026 · China and Japan · Hansard source

  More

  Over the past weeks, thousands of Chinese fishing boats have been trapped, creating a blockage up to 300 miles long in the east China sea off Japan. This is seen by many as a strategy for a future blockade. Given the huge reliance on that route for trade, such action would cause a global economic shock, threaten thousands of jobs in Scotland and dramatically increase the cost of living. What explanation did the Prime Minister’s Chinese counterpart give for this behaviour? What subsequent discussions did he have with the Japanese Prime Minister about maintaining maritime security in the region?

• 2 Feb 2026 · US Department of Justice Release of Files · Hansard source

  More

  The revelations in the press that Peter Mandelson was, while Business Secretary, leaking confidential Government secrets to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein should be more than enough evidence to warrant his expulsion from the House of Lords, yet we hear that this will not happen through legislation. Sadly, this is yet another scandal in the House of Lords. While Labour has promised major Lords reform for over 100 years, time and again it has kicked the can down the road. Does the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister agree with many in this House that rather than our desperately trying to reform an embarrassingly broken system, it is time for the House of Lords finally to be abolished?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Chinese Embassy · Hansard source

  More

  It is.

• 20 Jan 2026 · Chinese Embassy · Hansard source

  More

  Will the Minister confirm that the UK Government are happy with rewarding and emboldening a nation that has one of the worst human rights records, that conducts espionage on these islands and in our Parliament, that has imprisoned a UK national—Jimmy Lai—on trumped-up charges, that has committed crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs and that is the single most important enabler of Russia’s illegal war machine against Ukraine and its civilian population, which we as parliamentarians have stood united against?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Proposed Chinese Embassy · Hansard source

  More

  The UK Government do not seem aware of the message that disregarding safety and approving the Chinese mega-embassy would send to Tibetan, Uyghur and other exile communities in the UK who face intimidation, surveillance and abduction attempts almost daily. On transnational repression, we have heard warm words about upholding various measures, so let me be more specific: what assessment have the Government made of the risk that the proposed embassy will be used to facilitate transnational repression, bearing in mind that there will be hundreds more diplomats there, and what specific safeguards have been put in place to prevent that?

• 14 Jan 2026 · Science and Discovery Centres · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for giving so much time for interventions. He will not be surprised to hear that I represent one of four science centres in Scotland. Over the last 25 years, Dundee Science Centre has given STEM experiences to more than 2.5 million people, and we look forward to enhancing that through the Eden Project at the city’s former gasworks. He mentioned climate change and environmental degradation, and these things need to be challenged. I am happy to hear that the hon. Member agrees that public funding should be committed to this area. Will he go further and suggest to the Minister that there be a timetable for that funding, so that both the Eden Project and our science centres across Scotland and the rest of the UK can be supported?

• 13 Jan 2026 · Chinese Embassy · Hansard source

  More

  Every single day, people from the Tibetan, Hong Kong, Uyghur and Falun Gong communities here in the UK already face intimidation through transnational repression. Their activities are under constant surveillance, and their families living under Chinese rule face arrest and prosecution. There are $1 million bounties placed on them, and their neighbours in the UK are encouraged to pass on information or deliver them to the Chinese authorities. Given the increased threat to their safety that the mega-embassy poses, what action are the Government taking to counter those actions? What message do the Government have for those communities?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Middle East and North Africa · Hansard source

  More

  Madam Deputy Speaker, it will not surprise you that I will more or less echo what many hon. Members across the House have said on Gaza, which is that 1.6 million people are facing starvation, winter floods, winter storms and freezing temperatures. Aid has been totally blockaded, with 37 non-governmental organisations including Médecins Sans Frontières, the Norwegian Refugee Council, ActionAid, Oxfam and others denied access, and less than 10% of the aid that was received before October 2023 is now getting through. The question that keeps getting asked in the House is this: what is the next concrete step that the UK Government are prepared to take if we cannot discuss sanctions? Can something other than talk be offered to all of us in the House who are desperate to hear that some further progress will be made?