Proposed Chinese Embassy Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Chris Coghlan
Main Page: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)Department Debates - View all Chris Coghlan's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(1 day, 12 hours ago)
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Chris Coghlan (Dorking and Horley) (LD)
Foreign interference in British politics is of enormous concern to most Members, following the conviction of Reform politician Nathan Gill, who betrayed our country for a genocidal Russian dictator. In response, the Government announced the Rycroft review to investigate foreign interference, including by China. Will they delay the decision on the super-embassy until the Rycroft review has reported?
Seema Malhotra
The hon. Member will not be surprised to hear me say that the decision on the embassy is an independent process, but I will just emphasise to him that the UK has a broad range of powers to counter foreign interference, including acts that amount to transnational repression, and it is important that we take that extremely seriously in government and across the House. On the Minister for Security’s announcement last year about the training and guidance on state threats that Counter Terrorism Policing had offered to all 45 territorial police forces across the UK, it is important that that training is taken up, and that frontline police officers and staff have an enhanced ability to identify state-directed crime and the actions that must be taken to mitigate it.