UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2023 Speech at Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2023 Speech at Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore

    The speech made by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Minister of State at the Foreign Office, in Singapore on 3 June 2023.

    Good afternoon, it is a pleasure to be here in Singapore, and to join such a distinguished panel.

    I am glad to have the opportunity to set out the ways in which the UK is deepening our cooperation with you, our partners in the Indo-Pacific. This work is important to us all, not just because this global growth hub plays a huge role in our shared security, freedom, and prosperity. But because of its central importance in tackling some of the most pressing global challenges – from climate change to managing the transformational impact of cutting-edge technologies such as AI.

    The UK’s commitment to the Indo Pacific is already bearing fruit across trade, defence, climate action and more. We are delighted to be an ASEAN Dialogue Partner and to be well on the way to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

    We hugely value and respect the central role that ASEAN plays in promoting co-operation and shaping the wider Indo-Pacific regional order. In particular, ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific provides a clear and welcome steer on how we can best work together, underpinned by shared priorities such as transparency, respect for sovereignty and international law.

    As a Dialogue Partner, and a country committed to multilateralism, the UK places huge importance on listening to others’ views and ensuring that we shape our approach. We know that these genuine, trusted partnerships are the key to success.

    If we look at some of the minilateralist relationships in the region, around climate action, we are excited to be working with Indonesia and Vietnam who are demonstrating great leadership in implementing new Just Energy Transition Partnerships with international support, driving a clean energy future for the region.

    On maritime co-operation, an area of particular importance to us as a maritime trading nation, we are developing, with our Southeast Asian partners, an ambitious programme to build capacity and boost training on vital issues from protecting the marine environment to upholding maritime law.

    We are also making a practical contribution to the region’s maritime security today. In 2021, two Offshore Patrol Vessels, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey, began their long-term deployment to the Indo-Pacific.

    These crews of young Royal Navy sailors have been discovering anew the maritime complexity of the region and building strong new bonds of friendship. We will deploy a Littoral Response Group to the region next year to add further support and depth to the UK’s commitment. And – following HMS Queen Elizabeth, our 5th generation aircraft carrier and her strike group’s visits in 2021 – we will be sending another Carrier Strike Group to the Indo-Pacific in 2025.

    Meanwhile, on Myanmar, the UK has focused on uniting the international community behind support for the ASEAN Five Point Consensus – including the landmark UN Security Council Resolution agreed last December. We are proud to be the penholder at the UN and will continue to bring all our efforts to support solutions.

    The complex challenges facing the Indo-Pacific require a multi-faceted response.

    The UK respects and supports ASEAN’s central role, both in enabling cooperation between its members, and in anchoring the wider regional security architecture. Within our ASEAN Plan of Action, which is now up and running, are a series of practical ASEAN-wide programmes.  In addition, smaller groupings can also be effective in driving key issues more quickly.  For the UK, what is important is that these initiatives are guided by a shared vision and shared respect for the principles of openness, good governance, respect for sovereignty and respect for international law.

    Whether we are engaging with our partners collectively, bilaterally or as part of a smaller group driving action on urgent issues, the UK’s commitment to transparency with ASEAN partners remains unwavering.

    Perhaps most clearly, if we look at AUKUS – through which we are supporting Australia in their defence and security responsibilities, bringing our decades of experience to heed, and accelerating collaboration on advanced military technologies with them and the US.

    Is it geopolitically significant? Yes. Is it an alliance? No. Does it support security and stability in the Indo-Pacific – a goal to which ASEAN is also committed? Absolutely.

    This is why I was so pleased to see Indonesian President Widodo’s comments that AUKUS and the Quad are partners not competitors to ASEAN; we wholeheartedly agree.

    Looking to the future, the UK is committed to playing an even fuller and more active role in promoting and supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, alongside other ASEAN Dialogue Partners.

    This is why we have applied to join the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus and the ASEAN Regional Forum.

    And we will continue to deepen our cooperation with ASEAN through our five-year plan of action which we launched last year, advancing our shared priorities on security, the economy and some of the biggest global challenges of our times. Together, we can continue to build a more stable, peaceful and prosperous future for all.

  • Ben Wallace – 2023 Speech at 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore

    Ben Wallace – 2023 Speech at 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore

    The speech made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, in Singapore on 3 July 2023.

    Good morning and thank you to IISS for hosting. It’s a privilege to be here in Singapore. An island nation and trading powerhouse with which the UK has much in common, not to mention a shared history. And I’m delighted to share this panel with my colleagues from Canada and the Philippines, just two of the nations we’re working closely with to keep strengthening the international order that benefits everyone.

    Lots has happened since the last UK Defence Secretary spoke here and the world already looks different in so many ways. We’ve fought off the pandemic. We did that by collaboration, not by isolation. The UK has had three Prime Ministers and we’ve lost our great Queen. Her similarly great namesake, the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier group, made her maiden visit to the Indo-Pacific in 2021. In that same year, the United Kingdom published the Integrated Review, signalling our increased commitment to this region.

    That review has been updated this year and we’re pressing ahead with our ‘tilt’ to the Indo-Pacific, not least becoming ASEAN’s first new Dialogue Partner this century. Of course, events in Europe are focusing us closer to home at the moment.

    Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine is forcing a rethink of the Euro-Atlantic security architecture. And it has spurred yet more countries to seek the collective security of NATO membership, precisely what President Putin claimed he was acting to prevent.

    But as busy as things are at home, developments continue apace. Indo-Pacific economic performance makes this the world’s undisputed growth engine – 40 per cent of global GDP, 60 per cent of global shipping, home to half the world’s population, and some of the fastest growing and most innovative economies.

    But far from seeking to secure blocks of interests, we believe this region offers enormous economic opportunity for all. It’s why European companies and countries are looking east, and why the United Kingdom Government considers our interests to lie as much here as they do in Europe. Indeed, in 2022 our total exports to the Indo-Pacific amounted to £127 billion – a remarkable increase of 22 per cent on the previous year.

    Yet just as we seek to benefit from the opportunities here, so must we also share  responsibility for the challenges. And in both regards, none are bigger than the “epoch defining” rise of China – as it was described in our Integrated Review Refresh.

    We are all now navigating the consequences of China’s rise – both those opportunities and those challenges. Lifting vast numbers out of poverty. Trading with the world. And the undeniable truth, that none of our most fundamental global issues can be solved without engagement with China.

    Be they climate change, energy and food security, economic stagnation, tech regulation, nuclear proliferation. But we must also speak plainly and acknowledge that there are also challenges from that ‘rise’. Illegal fishing, tensions in territorial waters, sovereignty disputes, and debt diplomacy.

    This session, Mr Chairman, asks ‘how can we create balance and stability in the Indo-Pacific?’ Many do consider that question purely through the lens of China and the balancing of some ‘great power competition’. But we don’t agree it has to be. We can do this in three ways… this might surprise you, coming from a Defence Secretary, but those ways are not primarily military.

    First and foremost, by upholding international rules and promoting common standards. Why rules? Because the ‘balance and stability’ we are talking about today is ultimately based on adherence to shared rules.

    The Ukraine invasion is a tragic reminder of the terrible costs when leaders disregard human life, national sovereignty, and the rules-based international system. Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, is constantly claiming that the system is simply made up by the US as they go along.

    Of course, this is a fabrication. He’s talking about the very system – including the United Nations Charter – that we conceived, including Russia, together after the Second World War and for which we fought together, in the hope of saving future generations from the scourge of war.

    Of course, Russia doesn’t want ordinary countries to now benefit from those protections or the freedom to choose because they might not choose Russia. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine – trampling sovereignty and brutalising innocent civilians – is a result of its utter disregard for rules and the belief that ‘might is right’.

    Well, they are wrong and that’s being proven by the international community’s determination to enforce those rules. Because rules are agnostic of nations’ military or economic power. They are common to all our needs. Their adherence prevents competition escalating into conflict, and disputes are resolved without fear or favour.

    What unites us is that rules apply to us all, regardless of actor or geography. We are all equal in the eyes of the law. It provides a level playing field. It ensures fair play. Which is one of the reasons, I believe, why Singapore has been so successful in recent decades. Because of the respect here for the regulatory environment, anti-corruption, dispute resolution and fair play. If it can work for Singapore, why can’t it work elsewhere?

    Whether you are the smallest country seeking to protect your fishing rights, or the largest seeking a greater share of global trade, the rules-based system is there to protect and enable us all. Yes all, including China. It is why the UK strongly believes so strongly in protecting the rights of littoral states in their Exclusive Economic Zones, as well as in the importance of upholding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

    We reject any claims that do not adhere to its tenets. Attempts to restrict the global commons are fundamentally damaging to us all and our trade. If international treaties bearing the signature of 157 parties are junked on a whim, this represents an attack not just on one treaty, but on the entire international system.

    So, the United Kingdom will continue to demonstrate that all parties stick as close as possible to UNCLOS. Because responsible powers have a duty to protect international rules. And neither can they take a back seat in evolving those rules as well. We want a system of 21st century laws designed by all, for all.

    The second way we maintain balance and stability is by backing free trade.

    The UK has always believed in free commerce and capital flows. The more we open up competition, the more we reduce overdependence and build resilience. And neither can we afford to ‘decouple’, commercially or diplomatically.

    We believe the best resilience comes from diversification, not from protectionism. That’s why the UK is working to diversify our supply chains. It’s why we have done deals with Japan, Australia and, of course, Canada, and why we will be enthusiastic new members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

    You cannot put a price on the ability to sell to 500 million people with a combined GDP of £11 trillion. And we’re building on that momentum having signed free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand – as well as Singapore, Japan, Vietnam and the Republic of Korea.

    Third, and finally, the way we preserve stability is through the promotion of our principles and values.

    Coming to Shangri-la and visiting Singapore I feel immediately at home. Despite very different national systems, we share many of the same principles and values. The belief that all nations have the right to chart their own course. Instinctive understanding of the importance of global trade. And above all, a belief in fair play.

    You don’t need to have mastered the rules of cricket to know that fair play is ingrained in the British psyche. No matter how big or small you are, how rich or poor, we believe nations should treat each other fairly, with respect. The UN conventions reinforce that and as a P5 nation, we believe we have a responsibility to help uphold those rules around the globe.

    And that’s where Defence does come in, because it has an important supporting role to play, not just in hard power projection but soft power promotion. The skills and capability of our Armed Forces are there to help friends when they’re in trouble, from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, to crisis management and civilian evacuations. And ultimately, in times of conflict.

    I know you share that view, many of you here. We’ve seen it in Ukraine. Alongside our troops training Ukrainians in the United Kingdom are Australians, New Zealanders, as well as Canadians. The US-chaired Ukraine Defense Contact Group now includes many countries represented in this room. And we appreciate the very material support that you are sending to Ukraine to help return stability to our continent. And that’s because you recognise, as our PM said recently, that Atlantic and Pacific security is indivisible. Our security is your security.

    And that’s why the UK is becoming more proactive and more persistently engaged in the Indo-Pacific. We have been using HMS Spey and Tamar – our two Royal Navy ships, permanently deployed in the region – to deliver humanitarian aid to tsunami-hit Tonga. To help enforce the sanctions regime against DPRK. And to undertake 16 port visits and over 20 regional exercises.

    We have expanded our network of Defence Attachés and regional defence staff – including the recently restored Defence Section in Manila, Philippines – to deepen our understanding and influence in over 20 countries. And we’ve been growing our wider Defence presence in the region, whether here in Singapore, our garrison in Brunei, or the recent Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan.

    As a result of all this we’ve been able to increase our tempo, conducting over 60 defence activities in the last two years alone, from exercises and training teams to staff talks and personnel exchanges. And, as I speak, there are 45 officers from the regional partners here today attending professional military education courses back in the United Kingdom. And all that activity helps to build partnerships. Because it is only by deepening friendships, knitting together a tapestry of partners and allies, that we can collectively secure our populations and our interests.

    The UK is a proud member of the Five Power Defence Arrangements. The region’s ‘original’ defence arrangement – established when its security landscape looked very different.  We celebrated the FPDA’s 50th anniversary in 2021 and, from my discussions while here, I’m convinced it has an even more important role to play in the years ahead. In parallel, we’re now entertaining new partnerships with the recent announcements on AUKUS and GCAP with Japan and Italy. And for the avoidance of doubt, these are not just about countering threats, or the submarines and planes that we’re building.

    They’re about the collaborative efforts that underpin them – partnering for technology-transferring, skill-sharing, information exchanges. They are national and generational enterprises. They will allow us to sustain our capabilities over the long term, and they’ll strengthen our supply chain resilience to help us prosper through the 2020s and 2030s. That’s why ASEAN is also so important. And why – in recognition of ‘ASEAN centrality’ – I formally applied in March this year for the UK to join ADMM-Plus.

    It’s this ‘partnership principle’ that runs through everything we’re doing in UK Defence, as much as it does in our trade. It’s in our refreshed Integrated Review and will shortly be reinforced in our Defence Command Paper Refresh. And it’s central to every defence engagement, every exchange programme and capability programme, every exercise or operation.

    In 2025 our Carrier Strike Group will be returning to the Indo-Pacific. It’s a great symbol of our partnership approach. Showing that, in a more turbulent world the UK will not retreat to its own shores but continue sailing far over the horizon. Using our unique convening power to bring like-minded partners together, wherever they are in this world.

    Protecting our freedom to navigate and operate today and shaping our ability to travel and trade, long into the future. So we can focus on what really matters.

    Building the best possible future for all our people.

  • Chloe Smith – 2023 Speech at the Robotics and Automation Conference

    Chloe Smith – 2023 Speech at the Robotics and Automation Conference

    The speech made by Chloe Smith, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on 30 May 2023.

    Good afternoon.

    This time last year, the quiet backstreets of Oxford saw something the rest of Europe had never seen before; a fully autonomous vehicle on public roads – without a single person on board.

    This journey marked a milestone for Oxa, formerly Oxbotica, one of Britain’s most successful spinouts, in its mission to bring ‘universal autonomy’: the ability of any vehicle, of any size, in any place, to drive itself safely and sustainably.

    Meanwhile, in the skies above Oxford, we’re planning on building highways of a different kind.

    Project Skyway – with funding from our £125 million Future Flight Programme – intends to build the world’s longest and largest drone ‘superhighway,’ connecting the airspace above British towns and cities from Reading and Rugby to Coventry and Cambridge.

    Not that that’s the only thing happening up there in the air; British start-up, sees.ai, has just been granted permission to use its drones to inspect power lines beyond the visual line of sight.

    Uniquely capable of close inspection, sees.ai can cut the need for helicopters and planes, making a dangerous job safer, cheaper – and better.

    Each of these 3 stories show the extraordinary pace of the ‘robotics revolution’ since the millennium.

    And they show that Britain’s boldest entrepreneurs are right at the forefront.

    That’s just as well. Because we need innovation now more than ever.

    From the net zero transition to the impacts of an ageing society, today we find ourselves facing challenges new and old.

    For centuries, Britain has been defined by its ability to answer these kinds of big questions by rethinking, reimagining, and reinventing.

    And if we are to shape the world in the same in the century to come, then we must once more be bold enough to do things differently.

    Whether that means using robotics to help hard-working carers to make the lives of elderly people healthier and happier or applying automation to keep wind turbines turning far out at sea.

    The robots you will have seen just next door are already changing the way we interact with some of the most dangerous environments on Earth and beyond.

    From navigating nuclear decommissioning and exploring outer space, the £112 million we invested in the Robotics for a Safer World programme brought together our world-leading universities to create cutting-edge R+D in clusters across every corner of our country.

    And British companies are making a difference in other impactful ways, too.

    In Cambridge, CMR Surgical is using robotics to improve the safety, accuracy, and repeatability of keyhole surgery.

    And, having joined Britain’s ever-growing list of unicorns, its technology is already transforming care far beyond Cambridge.

    It’s reducing waiting lists and speeding up recoveries everywhere from Edinburgh to India, Bangor to Brazil.

    On every continent, then, British answers to those big questions are making our lives longer, healthier, and happier.

    And to the scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors coming up with their own answers beyond our shores, I can tell you with confidence that Britain is open for business.

    The opportunities here are extraordinary: our own statistics show that the productivity boost of robotics adoption in just 7 service sectors of our economy could be up to £150 billion in 2035 – that is just short of the current GVA of the entire UK financial services industry!

    But, of course, those opportunities come with risks.

    And, to tackle those risks, we’ve got to get the regulation right.

    So that, rather than ‘stealing’ our jobs, robots can do the dull, dirty, or dangerous work that people cannot or do not want to do and improve the quality, safety, and productivity of the work we can and want to do.

    Because my department’s mission doesn’t end with making Britain a ‘science and tech superpower’; we want to translate that superpower status into tangible benefits for the British people.

    That’s regulation is right at the heart of my agenda.

    Just last week, I met with the Prime Minister and CEOs from 3 of the world’s foremost AI businesses.

    Together, we discussed how we can capitalise on Britain’s unique position of influence and shared a commitment to deliver on the agile approach to AI governance that we set out in our recent White Paper.

    Because unlocking the potential robotics revolution requires public confidence that these technologies are being used in a safe and responsible way.

    And we are determined to work domestically and internationally, as well as with many of you, to put the necessary guardrails in place.

    Coming out of that meeting, I felt a renewed confidence.

    That a government unafraid to look to the world beyond Whitehall to work together with industry and academia can get it right not just on regulation, but on skills and investment, too.

    Whether you want to build self-driving cars, superhighways in the sky, or surgical robots in the operating room.

    Together, we can make Britain the best place in the world to start and scale a safe and successful robotics business.

    I wish you a safe and successful conference. Thank you very much for inviting me here to speak.

  • Angela Rayner – 2023 Comments on Boris Johnson Resigning as an MP

    Angela Rayner – 2023 Comments on Boris Johnson Resigning as an MP

    The comments made by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, on 10 June 2023.

    I think the people put their trust in him because they thought he was about change and he was about putting them at the heart of decision-making, and he has let them down truly in the most devastating way at the time when they needed him most.

    No one could have predicted what happened to this country during the pandemic, but at the time when the public needed him the most, he basically was partying and lying to them at a time when they couldn’t see their loved ones. And that is unforgivable.

    The fact that he cannot recognise the damage that he has done, and he has tried to stuff the Lords with people that propped him up and helped him and assisted him at the time shows us that actually he had no respect for the British public. It was all about Boris and it has always been all about Boris to him, and people will be left disappointed by his legacy.

  • Boris Johnson – 2023 Resignation Statement

    Boris Johnson – 2023 Resignation Statement

    The statement made by Boris Johnson, the Conservative MP for Uxbridge, on 9 June 2023.

    I have received a letter from the Privileges Committee making it clear – much to my amazement – that they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of Parliament.

    They have still not produced a shred of evidence that I knowingly or recklessly misled the Commons.

    They know perfectly well that when I spoke in the Commons I was saying what I believed sincerely to be true and what I had been briefed to say, like any other minister.

    They know that I corrected the record as soon as possible; and they know that I and every other senior official and minister – including the current Prime Minister and then occupant of the same building, Rishi Sunak – believed that we were working lawfully together.

    I have been an MP since 2001. I take my responsibilities seriously. I did not lie, and I believe that in their hearts the Committee know it.

    But they have wilfully chosen to ignore the truth because from the outset their purpose has not been to discover the truth, or genuinely to understand what was in my mind when I spoke in the Commons.

    Their purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts. This is the very definition of a kangaroo court.

    Most members of the Committee – especially the chair – had already expressed deeply prejudicial remarks about my guilt before they had even seen the evidence. They should have recused themselves.

    In retrospect it was naive and trusting of me to think that these proceedings could be remotely useful or fair.

    But I was determined to believe in the system, and in justice, and to vindicate what I knew to be the truth.

    It was the same faith in the impartiality of our systems that led me to commission Sue Gray. It is clear that my faith has been misplaced.

    Of course, it suits the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, and the SNP to do whatever they can to remove me from parliament.

    Sadly, as we saw in July last year, there are currently some Tory MPs who share that view.

    I am not alone in thinking that there is a witch hunt under way, to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result.

    My removal is the necessary first step, and I believe there has been a concerted attempt to bring it about. I am afraid I no longer believe that it is any coincidence that Sue Gray – who investigated gatherings in Number 10 – is now the chief of staff designate of the Labour leader.

    Nor do I believe that it is any coincidence that her supposedly impartial chief counsel, Daniel Stilitz KC, turned out to be a strong Labour supporter who repeatedly tweeted personal attacks on me and the government.

    When I left office last year the government was only a handful of points behind in the polls. That gap has now massively widened.

    Just a few years after winning the biggest majority in almost half a century, that majority is now clearly at risk.

    Our party needs urgently to recapture its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.

    We need to show how we are making the most of Brexit and we need in the next months to be setting out a pro-growth and pro-investment agenda.

    We need to cut business and personal taxes – and not just as pre-election gimmicks – rather than endlessly putting them up. We must not be afraid to be a properly Conservative government.

    Why have we so passively abandoned the prospect of a Free Trade Deal with the US? Why have we junked measures to help people into housing or to scrap EU directives or to promote animal welfare?

    We need to deliver on the 2019 manifesto, which was endorsed by 14 million people. We should remember that more than 17 million voted for Brexit.

    I am now being forced out of Parliament by a tiny handful of people, with no evidence to back up their assertions, and without the approval even of Conservative party members let alone the wider electorate.

    I believe that a dangerous and unsettling precedent is being set. The Conservative Party has the time to recover its mojo and its ambition and to win the next election.

    I had looked forward to providing enthusiastic support as a backbench MP. Harriet Harman’s committee has set out to make that objective completely untenable.

    The Committee’s report is riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice but under their absurd and unjust process I have no formal ability to challenge anything they say.

    The Privileges Committee is there to protect the privileges of parliament. That is a very important job.

    They should not be using their powers – which have only been very recently designed – to mount what is plainly a political hit-job on someone they oppose.

    It is in no-one’s interest, however, that the process the Committee has launched should continue for a single day further.

    So I have today written to my Association in Uxbridge and South Ruislip to say that I am stepping down forthwith and triggering an immediate by-election.

    I am very sorry to leave my wonderful constituency. It has been a huge honour to serve them, both as Mayor and MP.

    But I am proud that after what is cumulatively a 15-year stint I have helped to deliver among other things a vast new railway in the Elizabeth Line and full funding for a wonderful new state of the art hospital for Hillingdon, where enabling works have already begun.

    I also remain hugely proud of all that we achieved in my time in office as prime minister: getting Brexit done, winning the biggest majority for 40 years and delivering the fastest vaccine rollout of any major European country, as well as leading global support for Ukraine.

    It is very sad to be leaving Parliament – at least for now – but above all I am bewildered and appalled that I can be forced out, anti-democratically, by a committee chaired and managed, by Harriet Harman, with such egregious bias.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2023 Statement Confirming Standing Down at General Election

    Caroline Lucas – 2023 Statement Confirming Standing Down at General Election

    The statement made by Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, on 8 June 2023.

    Dear Brighton Pavilion residents and friends,

    When I first stood to be your Member of Parliament back in 2010, I knew I was asking a lot of you. It was the closest election for a generation, in the midst of the worst recession since the war, and after people’s faith in politics had been trampled into the mud of the expenses scandal. Not the best time to come to people and ask them to take a risk and put their trust in a new kind of politics.

    But on the day of the General Election in 2010, 16,238 people in Brighton did exactly that – and with the election of Britain’s first ever Green MP, together we made history. It has been the privilege of my life to serve this extraordinary constituency and community, both those who voted for me, and those who did not, ever since – and to see my majority increase at each of the subsequent three General Elections.

    And when I think back over the past 13 years, my strongest emotion is deep gratitude. Thank you so much to all those who put your faith in me and put the politics of hope above the politics of fear. To every person who has stopped me on the bus and in the street to ask how I am and to share your personal stories, and who has offered encouragement as I have stood up in parliament to champion your concerns and to hold this government to account, thank you.

    I love this city and its people, and I know how incredibly blessed I’ve been to have been given the opportunity to represent you, and to work alongside you. I have always prided myself on being, first and foremost, a good constituency MP. The people who have come to me in my regular surgeries are often desperate, feeling like they have nowhere else to turn – they’re looking for care and compassion not the tangled bureaucratic web that passes for a safety net, and that all too often just causes confusion and complication. I’ve done everything possible to help wherever I can and always worked to ensure that people feel heard, that their concerns matter, and that they are not alone.

    But the intensity of these constituency commitments, together with the particular responsibilities of being my Party’s sole MP, mean that, ironically, I’ve not been able to focus as much as I would like on the existential challenges that drive me – the Nature and Climate emergencies. I have always been a different kind of politician – as those who witnessed my arrest, court case and acquittal over peaceful protest at the fracking site in Balcombe nearly ten years ago will recall. And the truth is, as these threats to our precious planet become ever more urgent, I have struggled to spend the time I want on these accelerating crises. I have therefore decided not to stand again as your MP at the next election.

    The reason I came into politics was to change things. Thirteen years ago it’s inconceivable that Parliament would have declared a climate emergency. And I’ve put issues like a universal basic income and a legal right to access nature on the political agenda; secured the first Parliamentary debate in a generation on drug law reform; and thanks to my work in Parliament, a Natural History GCSE will soon be on the syllabus. I have said the previously unsayable, only to see it become part of the mainstream, on coal, on the myth that endless economic growth makes us happier, on a Green New Deal.

    My determination to trying to make change is stronger than ever. I look forward to having the time to explore ever more imaginative and creative ways of helping to make a liveable future a reality. Watch this space!

    My heart will always be in this most special city, and with the inspiring communities and individuals I’ve been privileged to get to know. On election night 2010, I pledged that I would do my very best to do you proud. I can only hope that – whether you voted for me or not – you will judge that that is what I have done.

    With love and gratitude,

    Caroline Lucas.

  • Andrew Mitchell – 2023 Speech on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act

    Andrew Mitchell – 2023 Speech on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act

    The speech made by Andrew Mitchell, the Foreign Office Minister, on 29 May 2023.

    The UK government is appalled that the Government of Uganda has signed the deeply discriminatory Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023 into law.

    Democracy depends on the guarantee of equal rights under law and freedom from discrimination for everyone in society. This legislation undermines the protections and freedoms of all Ugandans enshrined in the Ugandan Constitution. It will increase the risk of violence, discrimination and persecution, will set back the fight against HIV/AIDs, and will damage Uganda’s international reputation.

    As outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone is entitled to human rights and freedoms, without distinction of any kind. The recognition of these inherent rights has been hard-won by citizens across the globe. The strongest, safest and most prosperous societies are those in which everyone can live freely, without fear of violence or discrimination, and where all citizens are treated fairly and can play a full and active part in society. The UK is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances.

    We will continue to stand up for these rights and freedoms in Uganda and around the world.

  • Alex Chalk – 2023 Lord Chancellor Swearing-in Speech

    Alex Chalk – 2023 Lord Chancellor Swearing-in Speech

    The speech made by Alex Chalk, the Lord Chancellor, at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on 25 May 2023.

    My lords.

    Thank you to the Lord Chief Justice for that welcome.

    It’s more than I deserve – and it’s more than I’m used to frankly…

    You mentioned my Lord the number of Lord Chancellors. You’ll be aware of course that between 1678 and 1689 there were seven Lord Chief Justices. So we all have our rough patches.

    My Lord, there will be more to say in due course as your retirement draws closer, about your extraordinary career and contribution to the law. For now I hope it can simply be noted that you are held in the highest regard across the House of Commons, including by the Justice Select Committee.

    Members of all political parties would wish me to thank you for your many years of service to the law and latterly to the courts and tribunals. Parliament wishes you well for the next chapter, wherever it may take you.

    It is the greatest pleasure to see so many friends and distinguished colleagues from the Bar here today. Those that have led me, those that I’ve led. I do hope that you were intending to come to this swearing-in and you’ve not stumbled into Court 4 by mistake.

    I always knew my colleagues at the Bar were brilliant lawyers and advocates, literally some of the finest this country has produced. What I hadn’t quite appreciated before I entered Parliament is that they were such expert political pundits too. Over recent years I have been pleased to receive regular political insights from colleagues via text message – although some have included Anglo-Saxon words that I don’t understand…

    Let me put on record my particular thanks to my pupil supervisors from 6 Pump Court where I first became a tenant and 6KBW College Hill (I had to resign my tenancy and undergo a second pupillage, all very complicated…) I want to thank them for instilling in me as a junior barrister the core principles that underpin our legal tradition: in particular that abiding priority of fairness.

    From the very start of my career I did more prosecuting than defending, and I well understood from my very first appearance for the Crown that prosecutors are bound to act as ministers of justice, with an overriding duty to preserve and promote the overall fairness of the proceedings – not simply to win at all costs. But before anyone misunderstands me, and any of our friends in the media present today, let me stress that fair prosecutors are very often the most deadly – and I’m looking at some of them now.

    I remember leading a young barrister from 6KBW in the prosecution of three councillors for election fraud. We were prosecuting, but I couldn’t attend for the cross-examination of D3 as I had an appeal listed in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division. When I came back, I listened to the tape. Once I’d got over the grim realisation that it was considerably more skilful than my cross-examinations of D1 and D2, I was able to appreciate it for what it was – calm, courteous, scrupulously fair…and utterly devastating. All in the finest traditions of the English & Welsh Bar.

    Now, the appeal hearing that kept me away that day took place in this very courtroom.

    I experienced then as I waited for the hearing to be called on that tingle of apprehension that I always did whenever I had to appear in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division. It is a tingle rooted in respect. Respect for the quality of this tribunal; respect for the ruthlessly searching analysis that every advocate knows is to come.

    Candidly, it’s partly too because I lost rather more often than I won in this court. Over time I became increasingly skilled at detecting my doom before it was confirmed. In the case of Soe Thet my spirits lifted as I heard Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers open his ruling to note that I had “argued a difficult case with admirable clarity and eloquence”… before finding against me on every single point. I soon learnt that compliments tend to spell catastrophe.

    But more importantly, a message sunk in about the true meaning of some of the aphorisms that get bandied around – the rule of law, access to justice, independence of the judiciary.

    Because when you appear in this court you soon realise that these aren’t quaint, airy notions to pay lip-service to – but the essential building blocks of a safe, fair and prosperous society.

    What access to justice and independence of the judiciary mean in practice is this: as you walk out of this court having lost, you know deep down that despite your disappointment you have been heard by judges of enormous intellect and unimpeachable integrity. And you have had a full and fair hearing.

    It is difficult to overstate how precious that is.

    And so, as I sit here as your Lord Chancellor with responsibility for our justice system, I am aware of the responsibility I hold. It’s like carrying a Ming vase – ancient, priceless… but also fragile – and doing so whilst walking across a polished floor.

    It would be easy to feel overawed. After all, I’m following in a line that includes some greats (Sir Francis Bacon and Ken, now Baron, Clarke spring to mind).

    But it’s quietly reassuring that there are some absolute howlers in that list.

    Richard Rich who was Lord Chancellor under Edward VI is remembered for being immoral, dishonest, a perjurer and a man “of whom nobody has spoken a good word.”

    I hope I can modestly improve on that.

    So what will this Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State prioritise?

    As the Prime Minister has made clear, this Government will act to protect the public. That includes, of course, working to expand capacity in our justice system.

    We will redouble our efforts, working with the independent judiciary, to manage and reduce the court and tribunal caseload, speeding up access to justice for litigants and victims. In doing so, we will continue to tackle violence against women and girls. Prosecutions for adult rape continue to rise remarkably following some very hard work by counsel, prosecutors, court staff and others; charges are up over 90% percent compared to the quarterly average in 2019 pre-Covid.

    Second, we will progress the Victims and Prisoners Bill, with its emphasis on ensuring entitlements contained within the Victims Code 2020 are promoted and secured.

    Third, we will play our part in operationalising any immigration legislation that Parliament is minded to enact. We will do so whilst being careful to provide individuals with the due process which is the hallmark of our legal system. The rule of law requires that illegality has consequences, but it also requires that individuals have the proper opportunity to make representations in their own cause.

    Fourth, I will work to promote access to justice. As a parliamentary under-secretary of State, I devised a concept called ELSA – Early Legal Support and Advice – and I will be seeking out opportunities to drive that agenda forward. It is access to justice that empowers individuals, strengthens society and bolsters the rule of law.

    I take very seriously the oath that I have sworn today.

    I swear it as someone who sees this very much as a destination job, whatever Quentin Letts might say. That’s important because I believe that occupiers of this sensitive position in our constitution shouldn’t be looking over the political horizon. Nor indeed, should they be looking over their shoulder.

    And, as your Lord Chancellor, I will do everything I can to uphold the judiciary’s hard-won reputation for excellence, integrity and independence.

    But this role is not all about interactions with the judiciary, important though those are. I am responsible for over 90,000 prison officers, probation officers, HMCTS staff, LAA staff and others. And I want to say a few words to them.

    First I want to thank you for what you delivered during the pandemic. You are the ones who ensured that neither our courts nor our tribunals ever closed completely. Thanks to you vulnerable litigants were able to access justice and get the orders they needed to keep them safe. Thanks to you, ours was one of the first – if not the first – jurisdiction to resume jury trials. (We believe in jury trials by the way, even if others seem to be having a bit of a wobble…)

    But perhaps above all that, I want to note the quiet miracle that you delivered in our prisons. Many have already forgotten that at the start of the pandemic, Public Health England and Public Health Wales predicted around 3,000 deaths in custody. In the event the total was less than 300. Every one remains a tragedy for the individual and families involved, but the fact is that there are thousands of people alive today who would not have been if prison officers had not done their duty and come to work – when no doubt concerned family members were begging them not to. The same is true for probation officers who worked hard to manage risk in the community.

    So let me conclude with this.

    One of my predecessors, Francis Bacon, observed that, “if we do not maintain justice, justice will not maintain us.”

    Let us turn to the task ahead. I as Lord Chancellor will do my duty. And I know that all of us, whatever part we play, will join today in committing to maintaining that justice, endeavouring to leave the rule of law in our country stronger for our having been here.

    Those are my submissions.

  • Robert Halfon – 2023 Speech to the UCAS Admissions Conference

    Robert Halfon – 2023 Speech to the UCAS Admissions Conference

    The speech made by Robert Halfon, the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, at the Midland Hotel in Manchester on 24 May 2023.

    Hello everyone. I’m very sorry that I can’t be with you today as planned – because I think UCAS is brilliant. It’s one of our great institutions, alongside all the other great institutions it serves. It helps young people to bridge the gap between school and the great unknown, supporting them to navigate all their options for further study. Like myself, it’s passionate about providing applicants with the path that’s right for them.

    As offers season draws to a close, teenagers across the country are now lining-up their post-school options as they finish revision before exams. I know your role can sometimes be almost pastoral – particularly on results day – advising young people on what’s available to build the best education foundation for their future. I’d like to thank everyone here for the work you do to facilitate this progression, by guiding thousands of young lives each year.

    I also want to thank you for your support of students and applicants during the pandemic. This episode of unprecedented disruption is now, thank goodness, behind us, but I know its effects will be felt for some time. This is reflected in your student-centred approach to admissions, and in how we’re returning to pre-pandemic grading this summer. Where national performance is lower than prior to the pandemic, senior examiners will make allowances in grade boundaries to acknowledge the last 3 years’ disruption. This means a UCAS applicant should be just as likely to achieve a particular grade this year, as they would have been in 2019.

    As you know, I believe higher education should serve society with high quality degrees, that lead to jobs, skills and social justice.

    UCAS is helping this government to propel the skills revolution, righting the balance between academic and vocational qualifications. Young people need to leave education with skills the jobs market is demanding, which will in turn power economic growth. In 2023, higher education is a considerable investment. For those who choose to give it their time and future earnings, a good job must be the pay-off.

    And universities should do all they can to welcome those who need good jobs the most – applicants with great capability but the least advantages in life. And certainly not the family connections to show them the sectors where they could thrive.

    Higher education should perpetuate social justice – not reinforce the status quo, passing privilege hand-to-hand down the generations. It should extend its intake wherever it can, and leverage its prestige to acknowledge the high career value of high-quality technical education.

    This is where degree-level apprenticeships come in. No one should be surprised to hear me championing these prestigious courses, which offer superb vocational and academic education at some of our best universities. They hold particular value for less well-off students, preparing them for a successful career, whilst allowing them to earn while they learn without tuition fees.

    There are now almost 160 apprenticeship standards at Levels 6 and 7, for occupations including nursing, aerospace engineering and journalism. Word is spreading. Degree-level apprenticeships make up 16% of all starts so far this year [August 2022 -Feb 2023], with numbers up 11% compared to the same period last year. This follows year-on-year growth, with a total of over 185,000 starts since their introduction in 2014.

    There is much more to do to meet rising demand – and to spread the word to build that demand still further. We’re working with higher education institutions to increase supply of both employer vacancies, and applications from young people. Over the next 2 years we are providing an additional £40 million to support providers to expand degree apprenticeships, and help more applicants access these opportunities. Building on our £8 million investment last year, this funding could transform the uptake of degree apprenticeships. More people, from more diverse backgrounds, entering professions that might have been closed to them without a traditional, expensive, undergraduate degree. That would be real social justice in action.

    As with Levels 6-7, technical education for sixteen-year-olds has long been seen as the poor relation of academic courses. In 2020, we brought in T Levels to change that. These offer a credible alternative to A levels, drawing on the best of Level 3 technical education from around the world.

    We know universities may take time to get to grips the performance standards of T Level grades, particularly in comparison to other vocational qualifications. T Levels were designed to ensure rigour and quality, and their performance standards are more aligned with A levels to reflect that.

    I appreciate T Levels represent a significant change, which means recalibrating offers to recognise the difference between their grades and existing vocational qualifications. I’d ask you to recognise just how stretching these qualifications are in your admissions policies, particularly when considering which students to accept onto courses this year.

    Last summer many universities embraced T Levels’ value, and the achievements of the pioneering students who’d studied for them. For those yet to do so, I would urge every institution to do justice to these young people’s efforts, and provide a clear online statement of relevant courses and entry requirements for T Levels.

    Although it’s primarily known for university admissions, UCAS shares our vision to demystify and promote all the options available to 18-year-olds. Their next step could be higher education. But it doesn’t have to be, particularly for someone who thrives in the workplace rather than the library, and enjoys putting their tuition to immediate use. We want to raise young people’s awareness of the many routes up the Ladder of Opportunity, to good jobs and higher wages.

    With a million young people expected to be able to apply to UCAS by the end of the decade, we need high quality provision of all kinds to await them. My ambition is that UCAS will eventually stand for the Universities, Colleges, Apprenticeships and Skills service.

    The UCAS Hub already does a brilliant job of engaging users with many of the choices relevant to their career aspirations, including links on where to go next. From this autumn, apprenticeships will sit alongside degree courses on the Hub, with subject searches displaying all relevant routes. Apprenticeships from Level 2 through to degree level will be displayed, giving them new visibility on the platform and functional parity with traditional degrees. Search results will also show affordability, duration of training or study required, and likely career outcomes. Presenting all this information in one place will better inform applicants’ decisions on the right course for them.

    And from next year, young people will be able to apply for apprenticeships via the UCAS Hub, creating a comprehensive gateway for post-16 options. This forms part of our broader vision to integrate skills into the formal systems that direct people through education towards the labour market. We want to eventually create a one-stop-shop, where citizens can explore their career and training options at any point in their lives.

    At the start of that journey, school pupils will be fully appraised of all their post-16 choices and where these could lead. We’ve recently formed a partnership with UCAS to raise 18 year-olds’ awareness of apprenticeships, in order to increase starts in this age group. Students will be better supported to apply for apprenticeships, and employers given access to promote vacancies to local schools and colleges. This will create a talent pipeline for businesses, enabling them to fill skills gaps and offer further apprenticeships. It will result in improved opportunities for under-represented groups, and a virtuous circle of apprenticeships demand and supply.

    None of these big ambitions would be possible without your collaboration. I know everyone here is united in supporting the ambitions of the young (and not so young) people who apply through UCAS each year. I believe these ambitions are intrinsically linked; our plans could make a seismic difference to the prosperity of future generations, our society and the economy.

    I want to thank you again for your remarkable work with government in the past, present, and future.

    I hope you enjoy the rest of today’s events, building bridges to bright futures for upcoming generations.

  • Tom Tugendhat – 2023 Speech at the PIER Annual Conference

    Tom Tugendhat – 2023 Speech at the PIER Annual Conference

    The speech made by Tom Tugendhat, the Security Minister, at Anglia Ruskin University on 23 May 2023.

    Good afternoon.

    It’s a pleasure to be here with you today.

    Before I begin, allow me to say a few words about the response to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

    For those of you who took part, thank you. I know a lot of different experts have contributed in different ways to help our understanding and I hope you’re understanding as well of the situation that we’re facing.

    This independent enquiry was indeed a wake up call, it was extraordinarily important to shed a light on the unimaginable abuse that we’ve seen suffered by children over many many years. It found quite simply appalling examples of organisations placing their own interests ahead of children’s safety: either by turning a blind eye or covering up the abuse.

    Frankly it is deeply dispiriting to see.

    I deeply admire the courage of those survivors who came forward.

    We owe it to them – as well as to future generations – to ensure that it never happens again.

    Later today I’ll be speaking to a group of students.

    They are going to be asking the questions that students so often ask, I’m sure.

    They are going to be asking questions that are relevant to today and about gossip in the media that we’ve been hearing.

    They’ll be asking about the challenges we face, and yes, occasionally heckling me…

    One thing I can guarantee I’ll be asked is whether I would recommend politics as a career.

    It’s a difficult question to answer really and I’ve never really known how to answer.

    I’ve never thought of politics as a profession, at least not in the traditional sense.

    For me it’s a form of service.

    Now, having already met a few of you I’m very aware that I’m speaking to an audience of professionals.

    Many of you are at the top of your fields.

    But I also understand that for many of you protecting children online isn’t just a career.

    It’s more of a calling, every bit as personal as it professional.

    The reason I’m here today is that for me keeping children safe isn’t just another issue, or even just the right thing to do.

    It’s personal, and every bit as important as my role’s traditional focus on terrorism and state threats.

    Let me explain why.

    Earlier this year I visited the US to meet my counterparts in intelligence and homeland security.

    While I was there I had the opportunity to visit the National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, NCMEC for short, a heroic organisation on the vanguard of global efforts to keep children safe online.

    NCMEC receives reports of suspected cases of child sexual exploitation from US-based tech companies including enticement, where children are lured into sharing explicit images and videos of themselves; sextortion, when predators target their victims using blackmail; and the online distribution of child sexual abuse material.

    I’ll be straight with you.

    I wasn’t prepared.

    I wasn’t prepared for the depravity of some of the examples of offending they gave.

    I wasn’t prepared for the scale of the threat that our children face.

    And, as the father to a wonderful son and daughter of my own, I wasn’t prepared for the horror that children just like them are made to suffer every day.

    The thing that struck me was how vulnerable they are.

    To predators, social media sites like Facebook and Instagram are a one stop shop.

    Without leaving Meta’s ecosystem they can choose their target…do their research…start a conversation with them…and transfer that conversation onto a private messaging service.

    And that’s exactly what they do – in their thousands.

    In 2022 NCMEC received over 32 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation and abuse.

    21 million of these came from Facebook alone, which not only speaks to the severity of the issue they face.

    It also leads me to suspect that other companies are significantly under-reporting.

    I want to be clear – this isn’t a US issue.

    We face exactly the same problem right here in the UK.

    The NCA estimates that there are up 850,000 people in this country who pose a sexual risk to children, including both contact offending and offending online.

    Of course, in reality the scale of the threat our children face is much larger.

    We mustn’t forget that the computers in our children’s homes, and the mobile phones in their pockets don’t just make them accessible to people here in the UK.

    They connect them to the world.

    That works both ways of course.

    I’m appalled by the increase in so-called live streamed abuse, where predators pay to victimise children remotely – and often in other countries – via webcam.

    The UK is one of the top 3 consumers of livestreamed child sex abuse from the Philippines.

    Equally, in addition to the threat they face domestically, our children are also the targets of predators and offenders overseas.

    It’s clear, then, that this is a threat of immense scale and complexity, and I’m grateful for the valiant efforts of our law enforcement agencies.

    Every month UK law enforcement agencies arrest 800 people and safeguard 1200 children.

    Last week, for example, Bernard Grace was sentenced to 8 years in prison for making 600 payments to direct and livestream the sexual abuse of children in the Philippines.

    In March earlier this year, Christopher Manning was jailed for 25 years for using a chat platform to distribute child sexual abuse material and encouraging others to do the same.

    And in 2021 the NCA caught David Wilson, one of the most prolific child sexual abuse offenders the UK has ever seen.

    Wilson posed as a teenage girl on Facebook to manipulate his victims into sending sexually explicit material of themselves before using it to blackmail them into abusing their friends and siblings.

    His case is the perfect illustration of why our partnership with tech companies and organisations such as NCMEC are so important.

    He was brought to justice because law enforcement were able to access the evidence contained in over 250,000 Facebook messages.

    And he’s far from alone.

    NCMEC sends suspected cases of child sexual abuse in this country straight to the NCA, who process them before sending the resulting intelligence to the police.

    In 2021, they contributed to 20,000 criminal investigations across the UK.

    For predators that’s a significant deterrent.

    And for their victims, it’s a lifeline.

    That lifeline is now under threat.

    Despite its past record of dedicated protection, Meta is planning to roll out end-to-end encryption on Messenger and Instagram Direct later this year.

    Unless they build in robust safety measures, that poses a significant risk to child safety.

    Let me be clear.

    Privacy matters.

    The UK government is in favour of protecting online communications.

    And it is possible to offer your customers the privacy they expect…while also maintaining the technical capabilities needed to keep young people safe online.

    Meta are just choosing not to, many others have already taken the same path.

    The consequences of that decision are stark.

    Facebook and Instagram account for over 80% of global NCMEC referrals, meaning that 20 million suspected cases of child sexual abuse a year will go unreported.

    Meta will no longer be able to spot grooming – including cases like David Wilson’s – on their platforms, leaving tens of thousands of children in the UK, and around the world, beyond our help and in danger of exploitation.

    Faced with an epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse Meta have decided to turn a blind eye, and are choosing to allow predators to operate with impunity.

    This is extremely worrying.

    But it also raises questions for parents like myself right across the country.

    Questions about big tech, and the balance of power and responsibility enjoyed by social media companies.

    My children love going to a playground near where we live.

    While they’re there it’s clear who’s responsible for their safety.

    Me of course, as their parent – but also the council, who have a duty to ensure the environment is safe and well-maintained, and our local police force, who have a duty to make sure nothing dangerous or illegal is taking place.

    Both have clear lines of accountability to me and to our local community.

    My children are currently too young to have social media profiles.

    But what happens when they do go online?

    Who’s responsible for their safety?

    And is anyone accountable to them – or to me?

    In my view it’s clear.

    Companies like Meta enjoy vast power and influence over our lives.

    With that power should come responsibility.

    It’s not acceptable for tech executives to make vast profits from their youngest users, only to pass the buck when it comes to protecting them from the dangers on their own platform create.

    The first duty of government is to protect its people, and none are more precious than our children.

    In that sense, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

    Over the past few minutes we’ve covered a lot of frightening statistics.

    But we must never forget that behind every NCMEC referral, flagged image, and Police investigation is a real child being hurt in the real world, for whom the consequences of their victimisation are devastating.

    However it’s not just these children’s futures that are at stake.

    I personally believe you can judge a society by how it looks after its most vulnerable members, and that, in a nutshell, is why this is so fundamental.

    Because the importance we place on protecting our children isn’t just a policy issue.

    It speaks to the health of our society.

    This is a test for governments and tech companies alike.

    For governments: one of resolve, and standing up for what we believe in.

    For tech companies: one of priorities, and making sure they do no harm.

    As with many issues we’re not facing this alone.

    All around the world, governments are in a similar position.

    And each of us has a choice.

    To lean in or to look away.

    Well, I can tell you very clearly:

    This government will not look away.

    Some will have heard the words I have used today to be particularly critical of one company, they are right, I am speaking about Meta specifically and Mark Zuckerberg’s choices particularly. These are his choices, these are our children. He is not alone in making these choices, other companies have done too.

    Let me be clear again: this government will not look away.

    We will shortly be launching a campaign. A campaign to tell parents the truth about Meta’s choices, and what they mean for the safety of their children.

    And a campaign to encourage tech firms to take responsibility and to do the right thing.

    We’ll set out our case in the papers, in magazines, over the airwaves and online.

    We’ll work with law enforcement agencies, children’s safety organisations, like-minded international counterparts through bodies such as the G7 and Five Eyes, and tech experts with authority on technical solutions and their feasibility.

    We will not stop until we are satisfied that Meta and others are serious about finding a solution, and until they have strong safety systems in place to protect children.

    I hope that, like me, this isn’t a fight that you’re prepared to lose, and I hope you’ll join us.

    Our voices are louder when we speak together.