Speeches by Fox.

“The defence investment plan is urgently needed to provide our armed forces with the resources they need to defend our nation. Does the Minister accept that when the Government show themselves capable of publishing their welfare spending until 2031 but continually delay the publication of the defence investment plan, th…”

“A modern railway system should enable everyone, regardless of their mobility, to travel safely, independently and with dignity. That is why new clause 30, which would place a duty upon Great British Railways to establish an accessible rail strategy, is so important. If the railways are to be nationalised and brought to…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for tabling new clause 30. Has he been offered any explanation by the Minister or any part of the ministerial team as to why they will not accept his new clause?”

“The defence investment plan is urgently needed to provide our armed forces with the resources they need to defend our nation. Does the Minister accept that when the Government show themselves capable of publishing their welfare spending until 2031 but continually delay the publication of the defence investment plan, th…”

“Good morning. I am Ashley Fox, the Member for Bridgwater. I am a former solicitor and my interests are in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.”

“Ms Berry, you have been appointed for an 18-month term, not a three-year term. Has the Lord Chancellor set you any short-term targets, in relation to the diversity of the judiciary, to accomplish in those 18 months?”

“I am Ashley Fox, the Member of Parliament for Bridgwater. I am a former solicitor and my interests are on the register.”

“Minister, in April 2025 you discovered that the Legal Aid Agency had been subject to a cyber-attack. My understanding is that information on providers and clients from 2007 through to May 2025 was hacked from 31 December 2024 to 16 May 2025. Is that correct, or do you have any more information that you want to give the…”

“I understand that by November 2025 you had not informed individuals affected by the breach. Have you now done so?”

“Okay.”

“More than a year after the attack, you still have not told the victims of the attack that their data has been breached.”

“I find this astonishing. If a law firm had leaked this information, the Government would be all over this demanding action, yet here we are 12 months later, very sensitive personal data has been leaked, and you have not even told people that this has happened.”

“Minister, I know it was as a result of a criminal attack, but my concern is that 12 months later, whatever the cause of the leak, the victims do not know that they are victims of this attack. Admittedly, some of this information is very old—2007—but quite a lot of it will not be. It will be really quite recent. There s…”

“I will move on. No doubt, providers and clients have suffered losses as a result of this breach. Are you aware of any claims for compensation from providers and victims?”

“When you say you put out a notice, you put out a notice on the Government website, and that was it.”

“Not everybody reads Government websites, so actually most people would not know that they had been a victim.”

“You referred to name and date of birth, but, as I understand it, special categories of data have also been accessed: people’s health data, details of their sex life and sexual orientation, and then things like religious or philosophical beliefs and trade union membership. This leak goes way beyond name and date of birt…”

“My question was about compensation and the possible liability to the taxpayer for those liabilities. Can you give us an estimate of how much you think the taxpayer might be on the hook for, or are you not intending to pay any compensation?”

“First, for providers who lost a great deal of time and effort in dealing with this issue, and, secondly, for potential victims.”

“Fine. No compensation for providers. What about victims?”