Speeches by Reed.

“I am sure that the elections Minister would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to discuss her concerns. The review will look at any foreign financial interference in our democracy, and I would expect the points she raises to be in scope.”

“The leader of Reform UK, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), when asked to conduct an internal review into the Gill matter, of course refused to carry one out—although, to give him credit, he did say that he would welcome a review by the Government into these matters, so I am disappointed that the hon. Member f…”

“We certainly understand the risks posed to elections; for that reason, as we published in the strategy in July, through the elections Bill we will seek to strengthen the rules on donations to political parties. The findings of the independent review will inform what is in the Bill.”

“My hon. Friend speaks to a very real threat not just to our democracy, but to our national security, from foreign financial interference. We are all aware of bots and the role they seek to play in influencing the views of electors in elections. That is a function of foreign financial interference, and it will be in sco…”

“The terms of reference will be laid in the House of Commons Library today, but the review is not the only way in which we are looking at the security and integrity of our elections. The Minister for Security is leading the defending democracy taskforce, which is looking more widely at action that we may need to take to…”

“Safeguards are already in place, but the fact that the review will report in March means that it will come ahead of the elections. That is because not only Members of this House, but voters across the country, will want to know that the safeguards against malign foreign financial interference in the coming elections ar…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend’s points about due diligence. It is no secret that the Government are looking at standards in public life. The Prime Minister has already made some changes in the code of conduct that affects all Members of Parliament, but we need to look further at how we can strengthen standards across loc…”

“The review will certainly have the freedom to be fully independent, because that is important if we are to have confidence in its findings, but it will be forward looking; there will be no relitigating of previous elections. Although we know, not least from the Nathan Gill case, that there have been attempts by malign …”

“As I said earlier, we are not seeking to relitigate the past. There is no evidence that the outcome of any previous election or referendum was affected by any attempted foreign interference. We are seeking to ensure that the safeguards that we have in place against any threats to our democracy from malign foreign actor…”

“I will not be tempted to comment on any individual cases. We are seeking to ensure that safeguards against foreign financial interference in the round are sufficiently robust.”

“My hon. Friend makes an important point. Yes, of course the police have the resources they require to pursue any lines of inquiry arising from associates of Nathan Gill, as well as in relation to any other cases and political parties. It is important that the independent inquiry that we are launching today operates acr…”

“The hon. Gentleman makes his point clearly and eloquently, but he is right that it is somewhat tangential to the review that Philip Rycroft will be leading. The review will be looking at malign foreign financial interference, but he should be reassured that no stone will be left unturned in seeking to protect our democ…”

“My hon. Friend is right that it is a cornerstone of Russia’s international strategy to threaten the national security and integrity of democracies, including the UK and our partners overseas. We know that but we are seeking to check that our safeguards against that evolving threat are sufficiently robust to keep our de…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. Our democracy is one of the most precious things in our country, and we must all do everything in our power to protect it. Resources will be made available to the independent review from my departmental budgets, and we will hear from the reviewer himself about exactly how he sees the review…”

“I cannot anticipate what will be in the review. We have to give Philip Rycroft and his team time to make their recommendations, and then we will consider them. We are as yet unaware of the level of the threat that he may identify. As I am sure the hon. Gentleman will understand, I cannot comment on individual cases. Th…”

“I have by my side the Security Minister, who chairs the defending democracy taskforce. He is located in the Home Office, and I am sure that he will have heard my hon. Friend’s comments. I agree with my hon. Friend; our democracy is too precious to allow dirty money from overseas to destroy it. I hope the whole House wi…”

“The review will absolutely operate without fear or favour. It will involve an in-depth assessment of the current financial and bribery-related rules and safeguards that regulate all political parties and political finance so that we can ensure our democracy remains safe in the decades to come.”

“It will be for Philip Rycroft to publish his review in the way that he sees fit, but my hon. Friend is absolutely right. The sentencing of Nathan Gill for bribery, alongside other recent cases, has exposed vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the UK’s political and electoral systems. The review will give us the opportunit…”

“My hon. Friend makes a very important point. Cryptocurrency is one route by which dirty money can covertly enter British politics in an attempt to influence the outcomes of elections. That is why crypto will be in scope for this review, and I look forward, as I know she does, to the findings of Philip Rycroft’s review.”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on bringing young people into this House; it is very important that young people get to see their democracy in action. I am sure that they, like all of us who are older, want to get dirty money out of British politics, and that is what this review is intended to achieve.”