China: Breach of UK Parliamentarians’ Data

Lord Shinkwin Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

Again, I say that I take very seriously the potential impact on any Member of Parliament, either in the Commons or the Lords, of the activities that are under current FBI investigation. I also say to the noble Lord that on 4 November the Government announced the Great Britain due diligence regime. This forthcoming legislation, which my noble friend Lady Winterton will be dealing with, strengthens the UK’s approach to forced labour in supply chains, mandatory human rights, due diligence and legal powers. We will be working closely with businesses and other stakeholders to look at how those measures are enforced. At all times, we keep under general review the security implications of any activity and purchase from UK sources of a range of foreign Government-produced materials.

[Lord Shinkwin (Con)]

My Lords, I appreciate the national security constraints that the Minister has just mentioned and I thank him for his assurance that lessons will be learned from this. I ask him to assure the House and the Lord Speaker, as well as the Speaker and Members in the other place, that one of those lessons is that they will be warned under Privy Council rules in advance of, for example, the media publicising the threat.

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I assure all noble Lords and honourable and right honourable Members in the Commons that we will ensure that officials in the Home Office and our agencies work closely with operational partners to understand the full background to any particular activity. As I have outlined to the House, I am happy for officials to meet with the individuals who have those concerns but also to liaise with the Lord Speaker and with the House of Commons Speaker on how we can protect the integrity of the democratic process.