Darren Jones MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  I am afraid I do not know the answer to that question, but I commit myself to taking it away.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  I answered that question in my opening statement. All final documents relevant to the ISC process are being handed over today.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  I am not sure that I should declare my voting intention from the Dispatch Box, but I refer the hon. Gentleman to my previous answer.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  I refer to my previous answer about standing by the commitment made between the Government and the Committee. There is an established process for any disagreement through a redactions hearing.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  Redactions are done in line with the policy I set out previously.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman asked me a number of questions, which I will take in turn. To the question of where the documents are, those in scope of the Humble Address are currently in one of three locations: first, with the Government waiting for the publication of the second tranche; secondly, with the Intelligence and Security Committee; and thirdly, with the Metropolitan police. We have sought to publish all those documents—those that the Government hold and those that the Intelligence and Security Committee are considering—in a combined bundle, in order to aid the House to see the documents in a chronological order. Otherwise, I suspect there would be questions about what documents were missing, subject to the conclusion of the Committee’s work. I can confirm that documents that relate to Peter Mandelson’s security vetting have been passed to the Intelligence and Security Committee today, and that we intend to publish those as part of the second tranche, subject to discussions with the Intelligence and Security Committee. I was asked specifically about the documents that have been given to the Metropolitan police. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that I have been advised by the Metropolitan police that I am unable to list those documents, and so I will not seek to do so. He asked me about redactions policy; obviously the key redactions policy is in relation to information that the Government consider to be prejudicial to national security or international relations. That goes through the Intelligence and Security Committee for consideration. If there is a disagreement between the Government and the Committee, there is a process of redactions hearings between them to resolve that. As I mentioned in my statement, other redactions relate merely to information such as the names and contact details of junior officials, in line with established freedom of information policy as it relates to the publication of Humble Addresses.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  As has been alluded to at the Dispatch Box, there were documents that the Humble Address warranted to be published as part of that process. The Cabinet Office was very clear about that. It took some time to get access to some of those documents, specifically in relation to UKSV recommendations. That has now concluded and the documents are going through the Intelligence and Security Committee, as I set out in my statement.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  As the Prime Minister said, that was part of a series of visits that he was undertaking. It is of course proper that closed-door meetings between Ministers and stakeholders are attended by officials, minuted and reported in the normal way, but when visits are undertaken, they are managed differently. This was no secret to anyone; photos were taken and published on the Government’s social media account.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  All the documents that the Government hold in relation to the initial appointment and subsequent dismissal have been published in the first tranche, and all subsequent relevant documents will be published in the second.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  My best answer is to refer my hon. Friend to the contracts finder tool, which publishes all public procurement contracts and their value. In relation to questions of the internal cost of processing the Humble Address, I cannot commit to give a round number; essentially it involves lots of hours of civil servants’ time across Government. They are working very hard to be able to publish these documents as quickly as possible.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman sets out the process that has been agreed between the Committee and the Government and, as I have said to other members of the Committee, that process stands.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  Given the upcoming Prorogation and state opening of Parliament, I thought it would be helpful to return to the House to provide an update on the progress the Government have made to respond to the Humble Address of 4 February as quickly and thoroughly as possible. As Members will know, the Government published the first tranche of material on 11 March. That first tranche primarily related to the aspects of the motion regarding Peter Mandelson’s appointment and his subsequent dismissal as ambassador, in addition to the details of his severance payment provided to him by the Foreign Office. Following the publication of the first tranche of material, we have been working at pace to lay a second tranche before the House. The House will recognise, given the breadth of the motion, that a very significant number of documents have been found to be in scope and that it is taking time to process them accordingly. The Cabinet Office team responsible for the Government’s response to the Humble Address has been working through a large quantity of material, working closely with many officials across Whitehall, particularly in the Foreign Office. The team has been seeking to take an approach to sifting and publishing information that allows it to respond to the will of this House thoroughly but expeditiously, and in line with the approach taken by previous Governments in responding to Humble Addresses. This includes co-ordinating a number of requests to Government Departments to identify documents potentially in scope of the Humble Address, particularly electronic communications and the minutes of meetings between individuals and Peter Mandelson. This is the section of the motion that has the broadest scope. As Members will have seen from the first tranche, the Government cannot publish certain details, such as the names of junior officials, personal information or legally privileged information. Separately, in line with the process agreed by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, the Government will not publish information that undermines or threatens our country’s national security or international relations. As colleagues will appreciate, both those processes require detailed consideration. The Government are very grateful to the ISC for its constructive engagement in that process, which we recognise has constituted significant additional work on top of its existing responsibilities. As I have set out previously, the Cabinet Office has also been working with the Metropolitan police to avoid prejudicing a live police investigation. I can confirm that by the end of today, the Cabinet Office will have passed to the ISC all the material it has processed as part of the Humble Address and judged to be prejudicial to national security or international relations. This has amounted to over 300 individual documents. It includes a number that are relevant to the processes of Peter Mandelson’s security vetting, too. As I mentioned earlier, I am very grateful to the ISC for the important role it continues to play in the Humble Address process, and for the speed with which it is processing the documents. I would like to reassure colleagues that Parliament will receive the second tranche of material as soon as possible following the state opening and the conclusion of the work of the ISC, and I will return to the House at that point. I commend this statement to the House.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. and learned Gentleman for his question and confirm that the Government share the view that it is not the fault of the Intelligence and Security Committee that documents are not yet ready to be published; we hope that they will be ready shortly after the state opening of Parliament. The right hon. and learned Gentleman asked me about redactions policy. I refer him to my earlier answer, but he did ask me some specific questions; I commit to seeking further advice on those and returning to the Dispatch Box. I hope that he and the House know that my intention, from the beginning of when I was asked to do this process, has been to ensure proper transparency with Parliament, which I and the Government take very seriously. If there is any suggestion otherwise, I will answer questions about that here at the Dispatch Box. The right hon. and learned Gentleman’s second question has fallen out of my mind.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  I always enjoy the right hon. Gentleman’s interventions, but that did not pertain to the statement before us. [ Interruption. ]

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  The Humble Address is an example of Parliament holding the Government to account, and of the Government being accountable to Parliament.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend asks an important question. As has been said before, at the heart of this entire scandal are the victims of the most heinous crimes who have yet to see any justice whatsoever, apart from this becoming part of big political debates here in the UK and in other countries. That is why the Government have been absolutely committed to supporting the Metropolitan police in its criminal investigation. We continue to do so, and we would not do anything to undermine that process because the victims have to come first.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  I am deeply grateful, Madam Deputy Speaker. I always ensure that I honour parliamentary questions in a timely fashion.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  I assume that to be the case.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  The House will appreciate that I cannot comment on individual applications of policy in relation to private individuals who are no longer employed by the Government, but I reassure my hon. Friend and the House that all appropriate processes were followed.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  I am sorry that the hon. Member is not happy with my performance—I will try harder in future. In relation to his question, I refer him to my previous answer.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  The Department has now handed over all the final documents that it needs to hand over to the Intelligence and Security Committee. Once that process is able to conclude, we will publish the second tranche shortly after that.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is exactly right to raise that question. The terms of reference have been confirmed with Adrian Fulford. That work has been started, and I expect it to complete in three to four weeks’ time.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  All relevant documents will be published in the normal way.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question. As has been said at the Dispatch Box before, it was previously due process that for the appointments of ambassadors and direct ministerial appointments, vetting took place after the announcement and before the commencement of the contract for employment. Given the problems that have been shown to be applicable to these processes, that has now changed.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  It is not for the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister to speak about whipping arrangements at the Dispatch Box. I will leave that to the Chief Whip and the usual channels. The hon. Lady asked me two questions about reform to the other place, in particular the removal of peerages. I can confirm that legislation will be introduced shortly to bring forward the proposals that I have talked about at the Dispatch Box. She asked me further questions about redactions policy; I refer to my previous answer on that question.