Speeches by Brickell.

“On the security of the base, does my hon. Friend recall the visit to Washington DC that I think we both went on last year as members of the Foreign Affairs Committee? We spoke to many American interlocutors, including State Department officials. Over the course of an entire week in the US capital, not a single US inter…”

“The truth of the matter is that there is actually a lot of false information flying around—does the Minister agree? In Bolton, we are very much looking forward to having local elections in May. Can the Minister confirm that that has always been the case, as it has been in the other nine boroughs in Greater Manchester, …”

“My hon. Friend is making a very powerful speech about the need for change in the law, and the impact on humans and animals. One of my constituents got in touch with me to talk about the massive detrimental impact that the irresponsible launching of fireworks had during bonfire night weekend. She talked about how the ne…”

“As a proud member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, I thank the Foreign Secretary for her visit to our Marines at Camp Viking in Norway, and for her unequivocal stance in support of collective security with NATO at its heart. I welcome the Rycroft review of foreign interference in our politics. In the context of NATO…”

“Will my hon. Friend give way on the topic of sanctions?”

“On that point, two tankers from the shadow fleet were scheduled to go through the channel earlier today. The shadow fleet exists solely to keep money flowing to the Kremlin, while threatening maritime safety and environmental security. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the UK Government should be mindful of other as…”

“My hon. Friend is a tireless champion for the UK-Ukraine relationship, including through the 100-year partnership. Does he agree that it is worth commending the Government for the action that has been taken in the past month on issuing a licence through the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation to move the £2.5 …”

“I want to ask a couple more questions on crypto. You have touched on wallets, and you have touched on ultimate beneficial information on the source of donors and whether that is permissible. Can you say what your assessment is of how far back through crypto transactions political parties would have to go to determine w…”

“The commission’s guidance, which you mentioned, is going to come shortly. Can you say any more on timelines? In particular, are we expecting that it will be published before the local elections?”

“I really want to dig into the risks around cryptocurrency donations in politics. Can you briefly outline those risks, as the Electoral Commission sees them at the moment?”

“Mr Rangarajan, the Elections Act 2022 introduced the requirement for a strategy and policy statement. I believe the commission is firmly against that requirement. Can you explain to the Committee why that is the case?”

“Given that disaggregation risk, is there not an argument to say, given the Government have yet to ban cryptocurrency, given the commission is going to bring forward guidance, and given three parties have already said that they are accepting, or open to accepting, donations, that the commission might look again at the e…”

“So at the moment, parties are receiving crypto donations, or are able to do so. Have you received any suspicious activity reports from agencies around crypto being received by political candidates, individuals, or parties?”

“Presumably from the FCA.”

“On this point, you mentioned earlier in your testimony that you receive suspicious activity reports.”

“Thank you.”

“I have a final question. On 7 October 2025, I wrote to you in my capacity as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on anti-corruption and responsible tax, on a separate issue: reports in The Guardian about Wafic Saïd, a Canadian citizen who is resident in Monaco and ineligible to vote in the UK. Reports were made …”

“You talked at the start of your testimony about increasing the number of staff at the commission. When it comes to cryptocurrency, one of my concerns is around the capabilities that the commission might have. You will need somebody who understands how cryptocurrency works, and you will need somebody who has an understa…”

“But there is a risk there, isn’t there? The parties that receive donations in crypto currency have to swap them into fiat currency, as you say, but these instruments are very easy to manipulate in terms of how volatile their value can be. If parties are not able to, or do not, swap the donor cryptocurrency into fiat cu…”

“Sorry—the three that already accept crypto donations are Reform UK, the Homeland party and the Other party. Do you have the wallet addresses? Are you able to oversee those at the moment, or is that going to come in due course?”