Speeches by Onwurah.

“You are choosing to support AI through the growth zones. In terms of quantum, you have chosen quantum computing to focus on. I am not clear how you are making those choices. How does UK Research and Innovation’s decision to cut nuclear physics research programmes fit into that?”

“I am very glad to hear that you are looking more strategically at collaborating with the European Union on technology capability, particularly around AI. Prime Minister, we both campaigned against Brexit—I remember marching next to you—but I think we also recognise the public anger towards the European Union, which was…”

“I was very impressed by that, but I am not sure that further US investment in the UK actually drives UK technology capability. I want to come to how we support new technology investment across Europe. At the Munich security conference, you berated our European allies for having 10 types of main battle tank, while the U…”

“Just how are we making those decisions? When you say “move at pace”, do you have a strategy for identifying the sovereign capabilities that have been talked about specifically in technology?”

“It is good that we are learning from Ukraine on drones. However, I mentioned Palantir. That defence contract was not publicly tendered. Equally, Palantir is at the heart of the NHS, local government, and financial regulation, while Amazon Web Services and Microsoft have 70% of UK cloud between them. The US Government h…”

“Starlink is a US telecoms company owned by a South African American who advocates civil war in the United Kingdom. OneWeb is a European satellite telecoms company, which is part-owned by the UK. Yesterday the Science Minister told my Committee that OneWeb could be used to ensure domestic communications resilience in re…”

“Fresh from the doorsteps of Arthurs Hill, West Denton and Blakelaw, I can confirm that this is an issue of real concern and some fear across Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West, and that there is overwhelming support for the Government’s decision not to join Israel and the US in initiating an un-thought-through war in…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered technology sovereignty. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. We are four years into the Ukraine war and 10 days into the latest Iran-Israel-US conflict. At the start of this year, the US seized the President of Venezuela. A few weeks later, President T…”

“I certainly agree that we need to be able to defend ourselves against AI attacks.”

“I cannot help but give way to the hon. Member.”

“I very much agree with my hon. Friend. He is absolutely right, and that support should take the form of access to investment, but also procurement and procurement decisions, which I will discuss in more detail. The Digital Minister also told the Committee: “There is no single internationally recognised definition of di…”

“It is an important question. I am not in a position to choose our allies, but I agree in principle that we should be working with the European Union. I do not think it should be a choice between the European Union and the US, though they may make that the choice. I certainly think that we should be working with our Eur…”

“I agree with my right hon. Friend that we certainly need to work with like-minded countries. The third area is cyber-security and data governance. Some argue that we are already at war in the cyber-sphere. Last year’s strategic defence review emphasised cyber and electromagnetic domains, and established a new UK cyber …”

“I thank the Minister for setting out his sovereignty stack. Just as an example, is an LLM a critical input or another level in the stack—and does it need to be British?”

“The level of interest shows just what an important issue this is. I will come on to discuss some aspects of collaboration as it relates to sovereignty, but I observe that the last time our sovereignty as a mid-sized power was seriously debated was during Brexit, and the slogan “Take back control” reflected the sense th…”

“I welcome the Government’s decision to remove the mandatory element of digital ID, so that we can all focus on the benefits that easier access to public services should deliver for everyone. Usefulness, security and inclusivity are good principles, and I urge my constituents to take part in the consultation in any way …”

“My fellow member of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee makes a very important point about the definition of sovereignty. I do not want to get too bogged down in the actual definition, but I agree that control matters, and I will say a little more about that. I will raise the definition of digital sovereig…”

“Yes. It took us some time as well.”

“It is a great pleasure to be guesting on this Committee from the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee. Yes, Wifredo: you gave evidence to us a year ago, and you will be giving evidence in our updated session on the inquiry into social media and algorithms, on 24 March, I think. I will not go back over it, but m…”

“Not one who was willing to speak to us.”