Speeches by Whittingdale.

“Was that through the sale of the—”

“It would help, yes.”

“How much trapped cash does that release?”

“Right, and otherwise the loan is not going to be repaid for some time but the interest is going to go on clocking up.”

“When you and I have spoken previously, with me wearing my other hat in the FAC, there was talk about the trapped cash being utilised for other Foreign Office expenditure in country. Is that still a possibility?”

“I will start with a broader question, perhaps to both the FCDO and the British Council. Do you see the British Council as essentially a vehicle for British soft power to extend British influence in contested areas of the world, which is supported by the Foreign Office and also by commercial income raised through its te…”

“Indeed. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Can Minister state what assessment he has made of the grades of steel that are simply not produced in this country? What is his message to companies such as C&M Precision Ltd in my constituency, and all those mentioned this afternoon, that face an immediate increase in their…”

“I should add that while the Government gave the hall £20 million as a loan, as it gave loans to so many institutions across the country, the seat holders—the members of the Royal Albert Hall —put in £2 million above and beyond what they had to provide under the arrangements normally, as support. The seat holders have b…”

“I am pleased to support the revival motion before the House today. It is about 11 months since I moved Second Reading of the Bill last year. At that stage, it had already completed its passage through the House of Lords, and it was given a Second Reading without opposition. It then went into the Committee on unopposed …”

“Will the right hon. Lady give way?”

“I will make a couple of points to my hon. Friend. As I have said, I not only served as a trustee, but sat on what is called the conflicts committee. The conflicts committee has a majority of independent members—not of seat holders—and it is there to ensure that any decisions taken are done properly. While it may be the…”

“We are talking about very few events where tickets are sold at a much greater price than their face value. There will be some. The problem with what the hon. Gentleman suggests is that, at the end of the day, we are talking about somebody’s right as a legal owner of a property to decide what to do with it. The seat hol…”

“I think the hall’s representatives would be only too happy to talk to the hon. Gentleman and the right hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry); indeed, they have asked to speak to her several times, without success. As has been pointed out, this is a very narrow Bill—it has a very restrictive ti…”

“I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on his appointment and welcome the action in the channel. He will be aware that last night saw one of the biggest attacks yet on civilian buildings and people in Kyiv, and included damage to the historic cathedral there. He will also be aware that dual-use technology is still arr…”

“Can I come back to the activity of other actors in the regions that we have been discussing? Lord Evans, I think you talked at the beginning about the creation of gaps, which hostile powers like China and Russia will step in to fill. I wonder if you could give us any examples of that.”

“The Chair mentioned the inquiry that we held into disinformation, where we looked specifically at the activities of Russia and China in a number of these contested countries. I wonder to what extent the reduction of UK activity there has created opportunities for a narrative that Russia and China are only too keen to f…”

“I am just thinking about the international effort. Kate Ferguson, you referred to the impact of the dissolution of the US Bureau of Conflict and Stabilisation Operations. Obviously America is the major player. Would the panel like to say anything about how America’s stepping back from activity has affected the areas wh…”

“While I welcome the Government’s belated intention to act in this area, does the Minister agree that there would be no need to wait for legislation if the social media companies actually started to enforce their existing age requirements for participating online? Many children under the age of 13 are able to create acc…”

“(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if she will make a statement on the recent deliberate attacks by Russia on civilian infrastructure, including residential apartment buildings and other non-military targets.”

“I thank the Minister for her reply. She will be aware that on Tuesday night, one of the largest aerial attacks so far during this war took place against Kyiv and other cities. It left 22 dead, including two children, and 130 injured. In Dnipro, there was the use of cluster munitions and, indeed, a so-called double-tap …”