Telecommunications Legislation: Human Rights

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Tuesday 21st July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran]

The Government have been very clear. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary yesterday used the term “gross human rights abuses.” We will pursue a number of avenues on this because human rights clearly do not apply purely in the telecoms supply chain, but much more widely.

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

I gently remind noble Lords to keep their questions and contributions brief so that we can get as many in as possible.

[Lord Truscott (Ind Lab) [V]]

My Lords, human rights should be integrated in all UK trade policy, not just telecoms. What work are Her Majesty’s Government doing on this?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Barran]

I understand the noble Lord’s point but we work very closely with GCHQ and the National Cyber Security Centre and take significant advice on how we can protect our citizens. We keep that under constant review.

[The Deputy Speaker]

My Lords, the time allocated for this Question has now elapsed.