Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address

Question

Does the Minister accept that if the Government redact or withhold information beyond national security grounds without securing the House's consent, it undermines parliamentary sovereignty?

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What measures are being taken to address the extensive use of non-corporate communications channels for sensitive documents?

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The House instructed the Government to only redact documents that might prejudice national security or international relations. Sir Jeremy Wright claims the Government has gone beyond this scope and withheld documents from the ISC, which undermines the will of the House. This pattern of backsliding is evident in issues such as the Mandelson scandal and changes to indefinite leave to remain rules.

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Why was Peter Mandelson appointed despite two red boxes on the UKSV document, including one saying he should not be appointed? The public deserves to know if lessons have been learned from past mistakes. My Committee and the ISC are trying their best to get to the truth but face obstacles.

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Ministers cannot decide which inconvenient information Parliament should not see four months later. The ISC's concerns that the Government is redacting too broadly must be addressed to ensure transparency and public trust. Will the Minister confirm the same for documents on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s role?

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Reassurances are needed that Morgan McSweeney only ever handled documents within his security vetting level while working in Downing Street.

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The ISC stated that the Humble Address does not allow documents to be withheld from Parliament, only redactions with ISC agreement. Last week, it emerged that documents were being withheld from the ISC. Will all material be submitted as per the Humble Address?

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Concerned about No. 10 continuing to cover up Mandelson’s dealings by redacting and withholding information, including his role in a Prime Minister's meeting with Palantir and access granted to NHS patient data. Will all information relating to Mandelson’s involvement be exposed?

Question

When Olly Robbins appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee, he was asked why he did not view the summary document produced by UK Security Vetting. He pointed to the sensitivity of the vetting interviews and said that those detailed vetting files should remain in a “hermetically sealed box”. The Government do need the consent of Parliament to keep the full details sealed and inaccessible to the ISC. In the future, does the Minister intend the Foreign Office to have the discretion to award developed vetting, or will that sit solely with UKSV?

Question

Would the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister provide an update on the Government’s proposed legislation to remove peerages from those disgraced peers?

Question

When it became apparent that Mandelson posed an obvious and serious security risk to the state, mitigations were put in place. Will the ISC see those ongoing mitigations? And if not, why not?

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Will the second tranche of materials include materials that have previously been referred to the ISC?

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Can the Minister confirm that all documents, including annotations and documents showing how an initial failure to pass vetting for Lord Mandelson became a decision to approve him, will be made available to the ISC?

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Will the Minister say clearly when after the Whitsun recess he will release the next tranche of documents?

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Will the Minister confirm that if there are any changes to permissions, he will come to this House and seek approval from the House for those changes?

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When will we get the report and what is the image being created among the public? The Minister started off by saying he could have presented the document this Thursday. If he knows he could have done that on Thursday, when after Whitsun will we see it?

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Will the right hon. Gentleman publish the data before the unnecessary and costly by-election—yes or no?

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Why can he not commit to a timetable so we can hold him to account? Will the Minister bring forward legislation to make the ministerial code binding and ensure consequences?

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Can he guarantee to the House and constituents that this large batch of documents will be published in advance of the Makerfield by-election on 18 June—yes or no?

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Regarding disappearing messages, the MP wants a detailed breakdown of all those who were asked to supply information but could not due to disappearing messages on their phones.

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The Prime Minister's promise of transparency and honesty has been contradicted by recent actions. The MP questions why redactions have occurred if the Government is doing nothing wrong.

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The Committees' accusations of unfairness in providing information to the House, and why these accusations were raised if the Government did not do anything wrong.

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Concerns about lack of transparency surrounding Peter Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the US and why documents are withheld from the Intelligence and Security Committee.

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Rebuilding trust in public life, especially given recent instances of overreach by government bodies. The MP asks what steps can be taken to restore public confidence.

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After Parliament passed the Humble Address showing distrust of the Government, why does the Minister not accept coming to the House for permission if redactions exceed public interest?

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Why does the Minister reject a review of Mandelson files over Whitsun recess, when it would facilitate better scrutiny after 1 June?

Question

Is the Government's lack of transparency and accountability shown by the ISC condemning their actions?