Speeches by Whittingdale.

“Can I ask one last question of you, Sir Chris? You will be aware that there has been quite a lot of speculation about your own position. Do you expect to remain in post for the foreseeable future?”

“I understand that, but did you talk to the Chinese?”

“Did you meet Chinese officials while you were there?”

“Sir Olly, can I ask you a separate question? It has been recently reported that you have visited Beijing. Can you tell us what the purpose of the visit was, and did the subject of the embassy come up?”

“So the Foreign Office is not going to give any information as to whether payment was made to him.”

“But he was sacked, so is he still entitled, under his contract, to a payment?”

“So what is the answer?”

“Is he receiving any kind of settlement or pay-off?”

“He is not?”

“I have two further questions. Sir Olly, you have made it clear that Lord Mandelson was withdrawn from his position; he did not resign. Is he still on the civil service payroll?”

“They were game-changing, but you did not give any indication to the Prime Minister of their existence.”

“You must have realised that the contents of those emails were explosive—that they completely changed the perception.”

“It was not allegations; it was copies of emails.”

“This goes back to what the Chair was saying earlier. The Prime Minister is under fire essentially because the Foreign Office did not properly inform him.”

“Sir Chris, do you have anything to add?”

“What about your Department? Your Department briefs No. 10 prior to Prime Minister’s questions.”

“The Minister will be aware that Türkiye was removed from the F-35 programme following its acquisition of the S-400 Russian air defence system amid concerns that it could compromise the F-35 technology. Can he say whether Türkiye has agreed to return the S-400, and if not, is he confident that our technology will not be…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) on obtaining this important debate. A number of powerful points have already been made, but I want to put on record the concerns that have been expressed to me by constituents who have children at, or who work at, the Anglo European School in Ingatesto…”

“When do you expect to be in a position to tell them?”

“Can I ask you a little more about the restructuring plan? You suggested that, unless the Foreign Office provides extra resources, 35 offices may have to close. As far as I am aware, you have identified only five potential closures: Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Estonia and Lithuania. Has there been any communication to t…”