Dan Jarvis MP: speeches

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Speeches

28 Jan 2025 · Extremism Review · Hansard source
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The hon. Member has been consistent in raising his concerns in this particular area. I hope he will understand that I was clear earlier that many documents are produced across Government as part of commission work that are not implemented and that do not constitute Government policy. To be absolutely clear with him, this is a leaked document, but the work did not recommend an expansion in the extremism definition. These are not Government plans; this is not Government policy.
28 Jan 2025 · Extremism Review · Hansard source
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I am happy to give the hon. Gentleman an assurance that this Government will always approach these matters in a level-headed and consensual way. It is the case that previous Governments sought to use these issues as a political football.
28 Jan 2025 · Extremism Review · Hansard source
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his observations, which I entirely agree with. This Government and Ministers are always happy to come to this place to discuss and debate Government policy. The leaked report is not Government policy.
28 Jan 2025 · Extremism Review · Hansard source
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The Government share my hon. Friend’s concern about the availability of knives online. That is why—as I said to another hon. Member a moment ago—just this weekend, the Home Secretary announced stricter age verification checks and a ban on doorstep drops, in order to better protect people from knife crime. We will do everything that we possibly can, working with online retailers and the police, to ensure that the availability of knives is very significantly reduced in order to protect the public.
28 Jan 2025 · Extremism Review · Hansard source
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I can assure the hon. Member that the mindset that directs policy in the Home Office is what the Home Secretary and I think is in our national interest. The Home Secretary and I will use every tool and every lever at our disposal to ensure we keep the public safe. That is what we get out of bed every morning to do, and that is what we will continue to do.
28 Jan 2025 · Extremism Review · Hansard source
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I am grateful to the hon. Member for her entirely sensible and reasonable questions. She is absolutely right to say that there is no place for extremism in our society. This Government will work across party, across Government, and use all available levers to ensure that we have the right resources in the right place to tackle what is an increasingly challenging threat. She is right that an important element of that is the work that we need to do and are doing with regard to the online space. She will be aware that the Online Safety Act 2023 will come into force soon, and we have consistently said that we will look very closely at how effective that will be, and that where we need to make changes we will of course do so. As she can imagine, the conversations continue with the social media companies. We expect them to do the right thing, and where there is illegal content online, to remove it at pace. The hon. Member is also right to stress the importance of working with communities. That is why counter-extremism work is done properly across Government, with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as a key partner.
28 Jan 2025 · Extremism Review · Hansard source
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As I hope I have made crystal clear, I am always happy to come to this House to debate and discuss matters relating to national security. I will do that whenever the House wishes me to do so, but on this particular occasion—as I think I have also been crystal clear about—this leak is about something that does not represent Government policy.
13 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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Yes, we can confirm that that is the case.
13 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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The UAE is an important international partner for the UK, but of course other countries have their own rules on designation and it would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on their processes. I can say to the hon. Member that extremism has no place in our society and that we work very closely with law enforcement, local communities and our international partners to tackle groups and any individuals who seek to sow division and hatred.
13 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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It is a top priority to protect our country and our elected representatives from interference, intimidation and harassment. The defending democracy taskforce brings together a cross-Government response to these threats. We will use all the tools at our disposal to protect our democratic security and resilience.
13 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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Among many other things, the Government have appointed Baroness Hodge as the Government’s anti-corruption champion. We will be working very closely with her and other ministerial colleagues to address the issue that my hon. Friend has raised.
13 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. The Government consider this work to be urgent. We have seen some utterly unacceptable activity, both during and beyond the general election. I hope that work to address this issue will be a shared endeavour right across the House, but the Government are working at pace to address it.
13 Jan 2025 · Equipment Theft · Hansard source
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I commend the hon. Gentleman’s work in bringing forward this legislation and reiterate the Government’s commitment to safeguarding rural communities. We will implement the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, and we fully support its intention to tackle the theft and resale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.
13 Jan 2025 · Equipment Theft · Hansard source
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Let me reassure the hon. Gentleman. As he knows, the Act requires secondary legislation to take effect. We are currently considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation, but we intend that the regulations will be in place by the summer.
8 Jan 2025 · Draft National Security Act 2023 (Consequential Amendment of Primary Legislation) Regulations 2025 Draft Police Act 1997 (Authorisations to Interfere with Property: Relevant Offence) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source
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I am grateful to the shadow Minister for the constructive tone of his response. I think this is the third statutory instrument that we have done together, and he has always asked entirely sensible and reasonable questions; I am grateful for his approach. The hon. Gentleman rightly said that the police need to have the technological capabilities to address a developing technological threat. Concerns have been expressed around drone activity in recent times; that has been very much in the public domain. He is absolutely right to say that we must take every step to ensure that drone hobbyists, who rightly use drones in an entirely responsible and reasonable way—there are a number, both nationally and in my own constituency—do not fall foul of the legislation. The last thing that we want is unnecessary pressures on the police and the courts. I will take away the shadow Minister’s point and reflect on it further. I will satisfy myself that work is under way, locally, regionally and nationally, to address the points he raised. If I think I need to come back to him on those points, then I will, but I am grateful to him for raising them today. In closing, I reiterate that these instruments provide essential updates to allow the correct application and enforcement of the National Security Act 2023. The amendment to the Police Act 1997 is essential to ensure that police and authorised officials have the right tools to tackle drone misuse. The consequential amendment will ensure that existing primary legislation will continue to function properly. The amendment to the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2019 is essential to ensure correct application of the rules of disclosure in relation to offences contained in the National Security Act of 2023. I commend the regulations to the Committee. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That the Committee has considered the draft National Security Act 2023 (Consequential Amendment of Primary Legislation) Regulations 2025. DRAFT POLICE ACT 1997 (AUTHORISATIONS TO INTERFERE WITH PROPERTY: RELEVANT OFFENCE) REGULATIONS 2025 Resolved, That the Committee has considered the draft National Security Act 2023 (Consequential Amendment of Primary Legislation) Regulations 2025.— (Dan Jarvis.)
8 Jan 2025 · Draft National Security Act 2023 (Consequential Amendment of Primary Legislation) Regulations 2025 Draft Police Act 1997 (Authorisations to Interfere with Property: Relevant Offence) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source
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I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft National Security Act 2023 (Consequential Amendment of Primary Legislation) Regulations 2025.
8 Jan 2025 · Draft National Security Act 2023 (Consequential Amendment of Primary Legislation) Regulations 2025 Draft Police Act 1997 (Authorisations to Interfere with Property: Relevant Offence) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. Both the draft statutory instruments, which were laid before the House on 29 October 2024, relate to the National Security Act 2023. That Act, which received Royal Assent in July 2023, includes a number of measures to protect the public, to disrupt the full range of modern-day state threats and to modernise our counter-espionage laws. Among the measures is a prohibited places regime, which includes a suite of tools and offences to protect against and capture harmful activity in and around some of the UK’s most sensitive sites, including from modern threats such as unmanned aircraft—more commonly known as drones. It is essential to make the amendments in the two draft instruments to ensure consistency of approach in consequential amendments in both English and Welsh versions of related legislation, and to ensure that our law enforcement agencies have the right tools to do their critical work. The draft Police Act 1997 regulations add drone-specific offences under the National Security Act 2023 to the list of relevant offences in the Police Act 1997. The 1997 Act provides police and other authorised officials with the legal authority to employ counter-drone equipment, to detect and prevent the use of drones in the commission of relevant offences. That amendment is essential to enforce the National Security Act, as it ensures that police and other authorised officials can authorise the appropriate technical tools to tackle and combat drone misuse. If we do not proceed with the draft legislation, there may be instances in which an offence under the National Security Act 2023 is committed but the police are unable to authorise the use of their equipment. The other instrument, the draft National Security Act 2023 (Consequential Amendment of Primary Legislation) Regulations 2025, amends the Welsh-language version of the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2019. In December 2023, when changing the English-language version of the 2023 Act through the National Security Act 2023 (Consequential Amendment of Primary Legislation) Regulations 2023, the corresponding change was not made to the Welsh-language version, due to an oversight. The draft instrument will correct that oversight, ensuring that there is no misunderstanding when consulting the Welsh-language version of the Act regarding the ability to disclose information obtained in the course of an investigation by the Public Services Ombudsman, if required in relation to a prosecution for offences under the National Security Act. I hope that I have made it clear in my remarks that the draft regulations are simply to ensure the correct application and enforcement of primary legislation that has already been agreed by Parliament. Passing the two draft statutory instruments is an important step to correcting an inaccuracy and enforcing primary legislation.
16 Dec 2024 · United Front Work Department · Hansard source
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The hon. Gentleman has been consistent in raising this matter. Let me give him an absolute assurance that foreign intervention, wherever it comes from, is completely unacceptable, and this Government will use all tools at our disposal to combat it. We use the mechanism of the Defending Democracy Taskforce, and there is a lot of work looking at the issue of transnational repression. I can assure him that we take these matters very seriously, but if he has specific concerns that he wants to raise with me, I am always happy to discuss them with him.
16 Dec 2024 · United Front Work Department · Hansard source
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I agree. This Government’s approach will always be to work constructively across the House on matters relating to national security, but given the record of certain right hon. and hon. Opposition Members, I suggest that humility might be the order of the day for some of them.
16 Dec 2024 · United Front Work Department · Hansard source
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I can give my hon. Friend that assurance.
16 Dec 2024 · United Front Work Department · Hansard source
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First, we were pleased to offer that briefing because these are important matters that should not divide us. It will always be this Government’s approach that, where we can work co-operatively with all Members of this House on matters relating to national security, we will seek to do so. The right hon. Gentleman made some important points about matters relating to business, higher education and universities. He is a former Technology Minister, so I know he speaks with authority and expertise on matters relating to intellectual property theft, and this is an important point for him to make. I share his concerns. It is completely unacceptable that any entity, whether they are a hostile state or otherwise, should seek to draw intellectual property out of our country, and this Government take the matter very seriously. The right hon. Gentleman mentioned the comments of the director general of MI5, Ken McCallum, and I would say to him that the National Security and Investment Act 2021 provides a framework for this Government, as it did for the previous Government, when dealing with some of these matters. The right hon. Gentleman asked about FIRS, and I hope I have been able to provide some reassurance on the Government’s intention to table the regulations as soon as practically possible in the new year, with a view to having the scheme up and running by the summer. On the approach to China, I do not agree with the right hon. Gentleman’s characterisation of the Prime Minister’s recent meeting. I would just say very gently to him that at least the Prime Minister did not take President Xi to the pub for a pint.
16 Dec 2024 · United Front Work Department · Hansard source
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The hon. Member makes an important point. On the nature of the threat, I refer him to the annual threat lecture given by the director general of MI5 back in October. We work incredibly closely with all the devolved Administrations, and I hope at some point to visit the hon. Member’s part of the world.
16 Dec 2024 · United Front Work Department · Hansard source
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We are working with other Departments to carry out an audit of the UK’s relationship with China. This is being done to improve our ability to understand and respond to both the challenges and the opportunities that China poses. It is vital that we have a thorough understanding of the bilateral relationship with China, including where we need to challenge to protect the UK’s national security. The audit is ongoing, and its outcomes will guide a consistent and coherent approach to China. British national overseas status is a matter that I know my hon. Friend has rightly pursued for a significant amount of time. This reflects the UK’s historical and moral commitment to those people of Hong Kong who chose to retain their ties to the UK by taking up BNO status at the point of Hong Kong’s handover to China in 1997. BNO status holders and their families are making significant contributions to our economy and local communities. From the route’s introduction on 31 January 2021 to the end of September 2024, more than 215,000 visas were granted.
16 Dec 2024 · United Front Work Department · Hansard source
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The right hon. Gentleman makes a very sensible point, as always. I have not yet looked at the US Treasury Department’s website, but I give him an undertaking that I will look at it and report back later today. He is right about the sophisticated relationship, as he describes it. As he knows government well, I can tell him that we take these matters incredibly seriously, and that the National Security Council provides the forum for decision making on these issues across Government. A lot of work, effort and political leadership goes into ensuring that that is an appropriate forum for making decisions collectively, across Government. Some of those decisions are not easy—some are more challenging —but we will always seek to do what is in the best interests of our country.
16 Dec 2024 · United Front Work Department · Hansard source
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The right hon. Gentleman makes a fair point, which I am very happy to discuss with him offline. I will look carefully at the suggestion he has made; I know that it is being considered by colleagues across Government, but let me take it away and I will come back to him.

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