Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Vince Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

These are live discussions taking place not just between myself and my counterparts, but with other members of the Government. The right hon. Gentleman will have noted the political declaration achieved at the last meeting at the Council of Europe. That work was led by the Justice Secretary but was a cross-Government effort. We will continue in that vein, because reform of the European convention on human rights, and article 3 in particular, is a key part of our agenda. We will have legislation on domestic reform of article 8 in due course.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Mr Speaker, I wish you and your team a very happy new year. I welcome the Minister’s work on the defending democracy taskforce. How can MPs like me, and political parties more generally, get involved in supporting the taskforce, because I am passionate about representing Harlow and not Moscow?

[Dan Jarvis]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend. I intend for this work to be a shared endeavour right across the House. Members and their teams should remain vigilant about the threats to our democracy, particularly in the run-up to the elections in May. I again encourage take-up of the personal and online security guidance available to all Members and staff. Any malicious activity should be reported through the appropriate channels, including the Parliamentary Security Department.