Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale OBE MP

Member of Parliament for Maldon

Lachin Corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh

Sir John Whittingdale I thank my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) for securing this timely debate. I want not to repeat what other Members have said—I agree with all the speeches that have been made so far—but to contribute because I have actually been to Nagorno-Karabakh. I travelled there […]

UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador Programme

John Whittingdale met James Cooper, the Personal Development Lead at the Plume Academy in Maldon who was attending a reception at Westminster for the UK Teacher Ambassador Programme. James successfully applied to attend the 3 day programme during which attendees meet the Speaker and Lords Speaker, and attend briefings to gain a greater understanding of […]

Visit to Hanningfield Reservoir

Today John Whittingdale visited Hanningfield Reservoir with Dr Simon Lyster, Chair of the Essex Local Nature Partnership. John saw how drinkable water is obtained from sludge by filtering it through a natural reed bed. There are 16 individual reed bed filter systems by the reservoir covering 4.5 hectares and these sustainably filter the sludge left […]

Russia’s Grand Strategy

Sir John Whittingdale I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin) on securing this debate for a second time. Looking at what was said a year ago, I think there was some foresight then and, if greater attention had been paid at that time, we might not be […]

Russia’s Grand Strategy Speech

Sir John Whittingdale MP made a speech in the Russian Grand Strategy Debate today, highlighting the the oppression of the Russian people under Putins regime, the suppression of free media in Russia, and the ongoing work to prosecute Russia of likely War Crimes, for Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.

Iranian Journalists

Sir John Whittingdale asked the Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, what the Government is doing in response to continuing threats against journalists working for Iran International, whose headquarters are in the UK. This was following a statement made by the Foreign Secretary in response to the execution of Alireza Akbari, an Iranian-British National in Iran.

Iran International Journalists

Sir John Whittingdale My hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Dr Offord) was right to draw attention to the power of the media in exposing what is going on in Iran, but my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will be aware of the continuing threats against journalists working for Iran International, whose headquarters in […]

Inquiry into Mental Health Services in Essex

Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale MP and Rt Hon Priti Patel MP have sent a joint letter to the Secretary of State for Health, to outline their concern regarding the ongoing Independent Inquiry into Mental Health Services in Essex, following the publication of a letter from the Chair of the Inquiry stating that she no […]

Non-domestic Energy Support

Sir John Whittingdale While I agree with my hon. Friend that support cannot continue indefinitely, I welcome his recognition that high energy users will continue to require special help. Will that support cover agricultural businesses that are high energy users such as Dengie Crops in my constituency, which uses gas to dry crops to produce […]