Gordon McKee MP: speeches

Speeches

• 19 Jun 2025 · Warm Home Discount · Hansard source

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  Thousands more of my constituents in Glasgow will have money off their energy bills this winter as a result of this Labour Government’s decision. I welcome the Minister’s statement and ask her to assure me that the Government will continue to work hard to deliver lower energy bills for families in Glasgow.

• 2 Jun 2025 · Strategic Defence Review · Hansard source

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  I was pleased to join the Secretary of State this morning in Glasgow, where he met some of the workers building the Type 26 frigate. As my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson) said, the Norwegian Government are considering placing an order for that frigate, so can I ask the Secretary of State to do everything he can to encourage our Norwegian friends to order the frigate?

• 22 May 2025 · Diego Garcia Military Base · Hansard source

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  The US supports this deal. NATO supports this deal. India supports this deal. Does the Secretary of State share my surprise that Opposition Members seem so intent on ignoring our allies?

• 20 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  We have deals with India and with the United States, and now this Government are repairing our relationship with Europe—something that I and thousands of my constituents welcome. I congratulate the Prime Minister and ask him to go as fast as possible to secure the finalisation of the scheme that will allow our young people to live, work and study in Europe.

• 6 May 2025 · Counter Terrorism Policing: Arrests · Hansard source

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  May I thank the Minister for his statement and join him in paying tribute to the security services that keep us all safe? As he knows, the UK is under constant cyber-attack from states, including Iran. Will he update the House on what work the Home Office is doing to protect the UK from ransomware attacks?

• 27 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The football pitch at Merrylee primary school in my constituency is used by hundreds of kids every day, but it is in a terrible condition. It needs to be redone, but the local SNP-run council is refusing to provide funding, which means that local parents have to identify grant funding. Will the Leader of the House join me in praising those local parents? Will she make time for a debate on community football pitches?

• 24 Mar 2025 · US Cyber-operations against Russia · Hansard source

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  With GCHQ, the UK’s cyber-operations are genuinely world-leading. What assurance can the Minister give the House that we will continue to support Ukraine with our cyber-security?

• 19 Mar 2025 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  Did the hon. Lady hear the question? Yes or no?

• 3 Mar 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  Not for a long time has a British Prime Minister been so important on the world stage, and the Prime Minister rightly deserves the support of the whole House. To protect our security, we have to make use of our incredible technology, but Government procurement often does not work for rapidly growing start-ups. Will the defence industrial review look at how we can improve procurement, so that we can make our technological advantage count?

• 25 Feb 2025 · Defence and Security · Hansard source

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  The Prime Minister spoke about the threat that Russia poses in our waters. Just a few weeks ago, I saw a piece of undersea cable that had been cut, almost certainly by a Russian vessel. What more can the Government do to protect Britain’s undersea infrastructure from foreign attack?

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q12. In China, DeepSeek has developed an artificial intelligence model almost as good as the most advanced technology from OpenAI. In the US, they are investing up to $500 billion in building out data centres. To build data centres, we need two things: lots of energy and, ideally, cold weather. Fortunately, Scotland has both of those in abundance. Will the Prime Minister back Glasgow being an AI growth zone, to help bring investment and solidify the UK’s place as the third largest AI market on earth?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  The ceasefire is good news. It has been welcomed around the world, and it will be welcomed by my constituents. It is a time of relief, but also one of great grief for the many tens of thousands of lives that have been lost. In November, I visited the west bank and met the director of UNRWA, who said he had no idea how aid would get into Gaza if and when the Israeli ban on UNRWA passes. What more can the Government do to ensure that the ban is lifted and aid gets into Gaza?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Artificial Intelligence Opportunities Action Plan · Hansard source

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  I join the Secretary of State in praising Matt Clifford, who has produced a top-class report. When building data centres for training AI models, two things are needed: lots of energy, and ideally, cold weather. Fortunately, Scotland has both of those in abundance, so will the Secretary of State ensure that one of the AI growth zones is in Scotland?

• 18 Dec 2024 · Copyright and Artificial Intelligence · Hansard source

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  This is an important issue everywhere in the world, but it is particularly important here in the UK because our economy has, as the Minister has said, incredible strengths both in the creative industries and, more recently, in AI development. It is important to note that a lot of the technology that powers these models was pioneered by DeepMind here in London. Does the Minister agree that getting the balance right on this is critical to the Government’s mission of delivering economic growth?

• 28 Oct 2024 · China: Human Rights and Sanctions · Hansard source

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  In May, the director of GCHQ said: “We want to engage with China where it’s mutually beneficial”, but that “China poses a genuine and increasing” risk to the UK’s cyber-security. Does the Foreign Secretary think that GCHQ has the resources it needs to protect us from Chinese cyber-attacks?

• 23 Oct 2024 · Infected Blood Compensation Scheme · Hansard source

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  There have been many stories told of infected blood in this debate, including from my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West (Jessica Toale), who told a very similar story to that of the constituent I will talk about this afternoon. These are stories of pain, injustice and, ultimately, state failure. I come to the Chamber to give the account of my constituent, Brian, and his late mother, Roberta Wilson Murray. In the mid-1980s, Roberta entered hospital to receive treatment for an ulcer in her stomach. Complications in that procedure meant that she required a blood transfusion, and on 13 and 15 July 1985 she received 30 units of blood. Those units contained infected blood, which led to Roberta contracting hepatitis C. At that time, her daughter was just 10 years old, and her son was just six. Even though in that moment Roberta’s life had changed forever, she did not know, because it was not until 2002—17 years later—that she found out her condition. In a routine test for high blood pressure, she was casually but devastatingly informed that she had hep C. Ever since that fateful visit to the hospital, and for the rest of her life, she was in and out of hospital. In July 2020 Roberta passed, just two months before her 49th wedding anniversary with her husband. For 35 years, Roberta’s health was plagued by a virus that for more than half of that time she did not even know she had contracted. When she did find out, as in other cases that Members have spoken about, she lived with great stigma in work and in her social life. The truth is that the state failed Roberta, and not just in 1985 but at every single step of the way since. The scandal of infected blood transfused into patients is, as we have heard in this debate, one of the greatest injustices of our time. For more than half a century, tens of thousands of people, including my late constituent, have suffered. They were let down by the very institutions that we are supposed to trust and rely upon most. Nobody would think that in an NHS hospital the treatment that someone was receiving would be a death sentence, but that is what it was for many people. As is so often the case with such scandals, the initial injustice was worsened by the cover-up and obstruction of truth that followed. Whether it is infected blood, the Post Office scandal more recently or the collapse of a stadium, these injustices must never be allowed to happen again. It is one of the core duties of a Member of Parliament to identify and expose failures in state bureaucracy. That is why it is so important that this Government will bring forward a legal duty of public candour. The pain and injustice that these acts have fostered must never be allowed to happen again, but the truth is that for families such as Brian’s, the damage has already been done. There is ultimately nothing we can do to fully compensate them for the pain and trauma they have endured, but we all owe it to the thousands impacted to make sure that the compensation process is swift, transparent and fair. I am pleased that the Government have made it a priority to get this compensation scheme under way, and it is critical that these measures can pass through Parliament quickly. There can be no more delay. In that spirit, I ask the Minister to write to me to give an indication of when my constituent and his family can expect to see the compensation they are owed. The Murray family, like everyone else impacted by this horrendous injustice, deserve nothing less.

• 22 Oct 2024 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  On a visit to Kiev with parliamentary colleagues last month, I saw at first hand the incredible bravery of the Ukrainian people, who will welcome this statement. Unfortunately, Russia’s war machine continues to be powered by western-made semiconductors that are smuggled into the country. May I ask the Secretary of State what work the Government are doing to make sure that Russia does not get access to that technology?

• 7 Oct 2024 · British Indian Ocean Territory: Negotiations · Hansard source

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  Given that the previous Government began these negotiations, does the Foreign Secretary agree that while Opposition Members may now be more interested in the views of Tory party members, this Government will always act in Britain’s national interests?

• 9 Sept 2024 · Sanctions: Russia · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister’s statement, and welcome him to his position in the House. He brings a huge amount of experience in this field, and I know he will do a fantastic job. Tightening economic sanctions on Russia is one of the most fundamental ways that we can help to support the people of Ukraine in their fight for democracy, and that is what I want to speak about briefly. Throughout history, conflict has been a battle of individual courage and morale—something that the people of Ukraine have demonstrated time and again over the past two years since the Russian invasion—but it has always also been a battle of technology. From the Roman legions through to the Manhattan project, the side with the better, more advanced technology often prevails, which is why it is important that our sanctions restrict Russia’s ability not just to resource its war, but to fight it in the first place. As the saying goes, chips are the new oil. Russian semiconductor technology remains around 15 years behind that of NATO allies, but by avoiding sanctions, it is able to overcome that problem. More than two years on from its illegal invasion, Russia remains able to acquire the microchips necessary for advanced missiles and drones that are used against innocent civilians in Ukraine. Many will remember—I certainly do—that, when our sanctions were first introduced, there was talk that Russia’s economy would come to a standstill, that within months, planes would not be able to take off and Russia’s military would be unable to function. Clearly, that has not happened. We must therefore ask ourselves why and what more we can do. Today’s move to ban shadow tankers and sanction those who operate them is the right decision. It will impair Russia’s ability to finance its war by selling and transporting oil, but there is still more to be done, much of which will require ingenuity and the kind of careful diplomacy that I know the Minister is more than capable of. There are two broad strands to the ways in which Russia is obtaining this technology. The first, and perhaps the most difficult to resolve, is by repurposing common technologies, the kinds of dual-use microchips that the hon. Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns) referred to. They are in washing machines or microwaves, but they are also appearing in Russian attack weaponry. For example, the Orlan-10 drone—used by Russia to target Ukrainian troops—contains some western-made components that we would normally find in weather stations, or even in dishwashers. When the Minister sums up, will he reflect on what work the Government are doing to make sure those dual-use microchips are unable to be used in that way? The other way that Putin’s military has continued to supply itself is by avoiding sanctions via third parties. The evidence is widespread: since the invasion of Ukraine, exports from the EU to some of the countries bordering Russia have increased by around 50%, roughly equivalent to three quarters of the drop in European exports to Russia since the war began. It does not take a genius to work out what is going on, especially given that the biggest growth in exports is in heavily restricted product groups such as chemicals, electronics and machinery. I know that the Minister will be keenly aware of this problem, so could he inform the House of the diplomatic work that the Foreign Office is undertaking to ensure we combat it? I fully support the Government’s moves to tighten sanctions. Russia must never be allowed to prevail in Ukraine, and we must constrain its resources to fight this illegal war. The people of Ukraine have shown incredible bravery, courage and skill. The very least that we in this place can do is honour our commitment to them. I know the Minister will do everything in his power to help achieve that.

• 4 Sept 2024 · Energy Industry · Hansard source

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  9. What steps he is taking to support the energy industry in Scotland.

• 4 Sept 2024 · Energy Industry · Hansard source

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  Having spent many years working for my right hon. Friend when he was on the Opposition Benches, may I welcome him to his position as Secretary of State for Scotland? The creation of GB Energy will support 50,000 new jobs across Scotland. It will deliver lower household bills and help us meet our net zero obligations. Given that Glasgow already has a fantastic renewables industry, may I ask what work he has done with his Cabinet colleagues to ensure that GB Energy supports jobs in Glasgow?

• 3 Sept 2024 · Sudan · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her statement. Sudan has borders with seven countries, home to around 280 million people. All those countries now face the destabilising flow of guns and mercenaries. What assessment has the UK Government made of the impact of the civil war on the humanitarian crisis, and not just in Sudan but in neighbouring countries?

• 2 Sept 2024 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  As we have heard, the United States will be going to the polls later this year and many in the Republican party are unfortunately expressing scepticism about supporting Ukraine. Will the Minister encourage our colleagues and allies in the United States, as support for Ukraine is vital for our own democracy and security around the world?

• 30 Jul 2024 · Gaza: Humanitarian Situation · Hansard source

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  4. What steps he is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

• 30 Jul 2024 · Gaza: Humanitarian Situation · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her answer. Last week, I met the Palestinian ambassador to discuss the heartbreaking crisis in Gaza. Since April, the volume of aid cargo entering the Gaza strip has decreased by around 50%, at the same time as hospitals remain damaged or, in many cases, destroyed. That is why I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s commitment to resume United Nations Relief and Works Agency funding and his demands for a ceasefire in the region. Having resumed that funding, what steps are the Government taking to allow that vital aid into Gaza and help those so desperately in need?