Speeches by Sobel.

“New clause 12, entitled “‘Last-resort’ powers in respect of data centres and AI models”, would ensure that the Government could intervene in the case of an emergency caused by”

““more serious and less predictable than at any time since the cold war.””

“Given the importance of data centres, and the speed of development of AI systems, should the Secretary of State not hold last-resort powers to hit the kill switch—the big red button—to direct a shutdown of data centres or AI systems deployed at significant scale, in the event of an AI security or operational emergency?…”

“It is a pleasure to follow such esteemed colleagues. My only declaration before I start my speech is that I hold a degree in information systems from the University of Leeds. I have been sat here for the last two hours looking at the memorial plaque for Jo Cox, 10 years after the horrific day that we lost Jo. I was a W…”

“There is obviously a level of complexity here in relation to the data centre, AI development and the network in the UK and more broadly. Will the Minister therefore commit to a meeting with me and my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) to discuss this matter further?”

“The new clause would bake in robust checks and balances to constrain Government overreach. It would require parliamentary reporting within seven days of any direction, followed by a debate in each House at the earliest opportunity. It would require a High Court review, so that any operator served with a direction has a…”

“On the amendment from the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), I think we have made some progress with the Minister, but it is clear that trying to isolate the issues around fair trial from other matters is complex. Repeating my earlier call, will the Minister meet me, the right h…”

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“My constituent Emma has long been committed to achieving justice for people with brain cancer and has been writing to me about it ever since I became an MP. She has highlighted the survival rate of 12.9%. As we have already heard, research funding in this area is very low, at just 1% to 2% of overall cancer research fu…”

“I will start by praising 42 Commando for the planning and execution of what could have been a difficult operation. Today the Ukrainian Speaker, Ruslan Stefanchuk, visited us in Parliament, and the all-party group on Ukraine hosted him. He said that he hoped to see further action on the shadow fleet, including the Arc7,…”

“I wrote to the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty), about the remaining licences for Russian fossil fuels—[Interruption.] And here he is. He said that those licences would be ending in January 2027. Now that the strait of Hormuz is open, could that be finished earlier, beca…”

“For gender pay gap reporting, will trans people at work be forced to disclose their birth gender, or the fact that they have had a GRC, if that is the case?”

“This is your interim guidance, so it is clearly having an effect on police forces.”

“Under Article 8 of the ECHR people have certain safeguards including personal autonomy, social identity, mental and physical integrity, the right to establish relationships without Government interference, and data privacy. Is your assessment of the code that it is compliant with all those and other Article 8 rights?”

“After the interim guidance, the National Police Chiefs’ Council published a guide for police forces on searching by transgender officers and employees of the police, and searching of transgender detainees. Now that you have published the code, do you feel that that guidance put out for police forces is, in general, com…”

“As we have already said, this is one example where this might be contested. Given there is a significant body of international case law, including convention cases which are binding on the UK, do you feel that the code will survive challenge in Strasbourg courts?”

“This is obviously slightly contested. Are you committed to having an ongoing monitoring of the human rights implications of the code, as our human rights body?”

“Do you not think that would breach somebody’s Article 8 rights?”

“Minister, we know that our water company, Yorkshire Water, is a dirty business, flushing sewage into rivers such as the Wharfe and the Aire, with children and others getting ill from swimming in them. But is it not also a broken business, with debt more than four times its revenue, while still paying over £50 million t…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. Agility and long-term planning are two essential cornerstones of our preparedness for national emergencies. There are two types of national emergency where we must instil those traits: climate and nature, and artificial intelligence and data centres. The UK’s f…”