Asked by: Lord Stirrup (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with technology companies regarding the use of platforms such as Telegram for foreign intelligence recruitment and sabotage planning.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
In her speech on 9 December 2025, to mark the centenary of the Locarno Treaty, the Foreign Secretary highlighted the significant security challenge Russian interference poses to the UK and our partners. Cdr Dominic Murphy, the Met's head of counter-terrorism, has been clear that we are seeing younger people drawn into conducting this activity on behalf of foreign states and has urged parents to pay attention to what their children are doing online. The successful prosecution in March 2024 under the National Security Act of two individuals responsible for an East London Arson incident on a London warehouse, storing supplies and technology destined for Ukraine, stands as stark warning to the consequences of this activity. The Government continues to support our world class law enforcement agencies in disrupting state threats including through the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) who have constructive relationships with the major social media platforms which have significant reach in the UK. DSIT engages with them on issues, emerging online narratives, or events that may pose a risk to UK public safety or national security.