Speeches by Doughty.

“I go back to what I said before about our journey towards the 5% target. That is for security and defence writ large, and of course for dealing with a range of threats and challenges that we face. I would also point to the fact that we already co-ordinate very closely with those Departments through the integrated secur…”

“I am not going to get ahead of the charter review and the different funding options being considered, but I am well aware of the different proposals that are out there.”

“The decisions made in the last financial year give you an idea of the scale of the importance we place on it. I would say—and I say this with huge respect for what the World Service does and must continue to do, particularly the language services and other aspects; it is remarkable—that we need to recognise that the gl…”

“I go back to the example I gave of the narratives that were put out around the Skripal poisoning. Those were reflected back to me unwittingly by individuals in my own constituency and even around this place. This has been going on for some time, but I am equally as confident that we have very strong co-ordination in pl…”

“I am very happy to try to come back to you with a more specific date, but it is a very live process.”

“Imminently; in the new year.”

“I think we can be. The Security Minister made that clear in his remarks to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy last year. For example, he talked about the last general election and was clear that there were attempts at interference activity. That is very clearly documented, but equally, he said, “We j…”

“Sir John, you and the Chair will know of my love and admiration for the BBC World Service; I am an avid listener and it is one of my most trusted sources of information that I go to. I love having it on in the car when I am driving around my constituency and to and from London. It is a fantastic organisation, and it is…”

“I will take that away.”

“The example that you cite is deeply disturbing and I am well aware of the attempts to influence the diaspora here—not just the Romanian diaspora, but other groups too. We are incredibly alert to that—my colleagues in other Departments who I have mentioned certainly are. I discussed these issues when I was in Bucharest …”

“I can definitely come back to you with some information on that. I can assure you that work continues, because I have witnessed it. I do not want to name individual countries, but I have seen some of the important work that we are doing with a range of media organisations globally, including in a number European locati…”

“There is a range of measures under the Online Safety Act, as you know, and the national security legislation and a range of other measures that we are taking to reduce foreign interference. I would definitely recommend, as Jonny suggested, inviting in colleagues from DSIT and the other domestic Departments to discuss t…”

“Closely. That was conversation I was having with my counterpart in DSIT just a few weeks ago. Jonny will want to add a little bit on that.”

“Yes.”

“I am happy to write with what information I can. I do not own the Defending Democracy Taskforce, so I do not want to give information about the way it operates here today, but I am happy to write with some further information about how it is structured and how often it meets. I will say that it is not just Ministers an…”

“Yes, we come together in that Defending Democracy Taskforce, and it has the appropriate Departments represented.”

“We do work very closely, and Jonny can speak a bit more on the level of co-ordination that goes on between officials, but ultimately, matters of structures of Departments, agencies and other bodies are usually for the Cabinet Office and others rather than ourselves. I am here to speak about the work of the FCDO in thes…”

“Absolutely, and I have been visiting and engaging in many of the same locations that you and the Committee members have visited. The first thing to say is that disinformation is nothing new. The Russians coined the phrase over a century ago, and we can look at many different examples in history, including extraordinary…”

“It is a really important challenge that you mention. I will look forward to what the Committee recommends, and I am sure that colleagues across Government will as well, but there is a challenge in that sometimes if you stick all things into one agency, people go “That is their business; they are dealing with that.” The…”

“First, Chair, happy new year—blwyddyn newydd dda—to you and the Committee members. Genuinely, I want to thank you and the Committee for undertaking this important inquiry. I think it is absolutely crucial and timely. I genuinely welcome the scrutiny and the ability to share some of the work that we have been doing.”