Speeches by Bryant.

“That is not the job of the DBT; that is a matter for the FCDO.”

“Well, it means that they are not able to use them. And we have suspended more licences. It is just that three of the licences that are extant and that would have been continued, because the licences are normally for two years, have been suspended. There are others that were suspended on 2 September last year.”

“I am not quite sure what the tenor of your argument is in that question.”

“Yes.”

“Just one thing, which is that three of the 167 military ones were suspended military licences.”

“The system is global. It exercises regardless of the country. We deal with—I think—some 10,000 licences every year across the whole world, and they are not for every single item that could possibly be exported to another country. If we were to introduce such a measure, that would severely limit British trade with other…”

“The F-35 is a matter for the MOD, I am afraid.”

“Because, first of all, the original assessment, which I was trying to explain, is that we control certain items. Those controlled items have to go through a rigorous export licensing process. People in the Department assess every single one, and we assess the situation in Gaza as to what might or might not be used. For…”

“Every single licence application is assessed when it comes into the joint unit, which is a joint unit between the three Departments. We keep all the extant licences under review all the time. There has been a review of some of them again this summer. Some licences have expired, including some of the ones that were susp…”

“I should also say that while of course today is about export licences, all three of us are fully cognisant of the horrific situation that is ongoing in Gaza. There are still people who have not been reunited—the hostages with their family and loved ones—and the misery continues. We want to make sure that everything tha…”

“If I may, I will respond to the previous point. First, I want to apologise to you, Chair, and to the Committee, on behalf of all three Departments, for the delay in responding to your letter of 13 August. We would have wished this to have happened much more swiftly than it has done, and I hope we will be able to make s…”

“If I might, Chair—”

“We want to make sure that is the case. As I have said, I have spoken to Jaguar Land Rover, and I intend to have a further meeting with the chief executive later this week, though he is departing in November. Two new Ministers from the Department for Business and Trade are here. Our job and our absolute determination is…”

“The evidence that my hon. Friend mentions related to subsea cables, for which I think the situation is robust. In fact, we had another cut to one of the subsea cables during the summer months; it was, I think, repaired within eight days. We are one of the best countries in the world at repairing subsea cables, but we a…”

“I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for all the work that she and I did together, particularly on space, in my old job and in hers. She was an excellent Minister to do business with, and I slightly fear having her on the Back Benches as she is a very redoubtable person. Many suppliers, including Evtec, WHS Plastics, …”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is on the Business and Trade Committee, which I will be before next week, I think. On ransomware, one of the questions is whether we know the full extent of what is going on in the UK. That is why we have suggested mandatory reporting. It is interesting that more than 70% of busines…”

“She is not; I will not welcome her to her new role, then—I welcome her to the Dispatch Box none the less. She asked a series of questions, and I will try to answer those that I can as precisely as possible. First, the shadow Minister asked when the NCSC was notified and engaged. It has been engaged since last Wednesday…”

“That is the second time I have been asked whether this attack has come from overseas, although I suppose that is a slightly different question from one about state actors. Again, I am not going to prejudge the investigation—I can tell that the hon. Gentleman knows that, because he is smiling. He referred to UK companie…”

“The single most important thing we can do is ensure that we end up prosecuting the guilty and that people are sent to prison, such as the gentleman—well, the person—in the United States of America who was recently sent down for 10 years as part of one of these networks, which was important. I am a Minister in the Depar…”

“I am tempted to say that it is too early to say, as the hon. Gentleman gave me that get-out clause at the end. The main thing I want to ensure is that all MPs have the information they need on a secure basis, so that they can provide reassurance to their constituents. I am sure that there will be all sorts of rumours s…”