Chris Bryant expressed concern about the UK's naivety in accepting foreign influence, citing cases of sanctioned individuals who were previously granted tier 1 visas. He highlighted the importance of transparency in lobbying activities, proposing stricter regulations on foreign state actors' influence on Parliament and the need for an annual report on foreign lobbying.

Ms Anderson expressed concern about the insidious influence of hostile state actors and the need for an open, transparent system to prevent undue foreign influence. She highlighted examples such as lawfare in UK courts and the regulation of all-party parliamentary groups. She also mentioned Labour's support for expanding the statutory register of lobbyists and addressing election interference.

Jim Shannon expressed the benefits of lobbying when it is done correctly but highlighted concerns about undue influence from foreign agents, particularly those with roots in Chinese or Russian politics. He suggested that the UK should adopt legislation similar to FARA and the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act used by Australia and the USA to regulate foreign lobbying. Shannon also stressed the importance of protecting devolved Administrations like Northern Ireland from foreign interference through illegitimate lobbying. Inquired about contact with regional devolved Administrations to ensure protocol and protections filter out to such areas.

Expressed concern about the lack of action on stricter regulation of lobbying and foreign agent registration, citing examples such as Russian money influencing UK institutions. Emphasised the need for a fit-for-purpose lobbying register to improve transparency and accountability, similar to the Scottish Lobbying Act 2016. Asked if the Government would commit to reforming Scottish limited partnerships, which are conduits for dark money undermining democracy.

He provided an example of a situation where he raised concerns about Ehud Sheleg, the treasurer of the Conservative party in 2019. He questioned whether Mr Sheleg would meet the threshold for being registered as a foreign agent. Welcomed the Government's decision to stop the golden visas scheme and suggested it would be helpful for the Government to publish their review into the scheme, which Parliament has been waiting for more than a year. Asked about the loophole in financial donations to political parties where agencies do not investigate the source of funds if they come from a British citizen, even if that individual received the money from someone not on the electoral roll.

He asked for clarification on what was meant by 'covert influence' and if it referred to intelligence agents using the cover of lobbyists. Gratefully acknowledged that the allegations have been disproved and urged Members who made those allegations to accept that they are now disproven. Referenced MI5's definition of espionage and inquired whether MI5 could brief MPs more effectively about what to look out for in counter-espionage.