Helping Children and Young People
I welcome that ministers are continuing with the urgent work of overhauling how police, social care and other agencies work together to protect vulnerable children. This includes from the kind of organised grooming and sexual exploitation that has come to light in Rotherham, Rochdale and other towns and cities across the UK. To reduce the […]
Fisheries Policy
It is vital that we make the most of the opportunity leaving the EU offers us to take back control of our waters. I am disappointed the EU would not accept the UK Government’s proposal that, during the implementation period, we would sit in annual quota negotiations alongside other coastal states as an equal partner. […]
Woodville Primary School
John Whittingdale visited Woodville Primary School in South Woodham Ferrers. John spoke to the School Assembly about his work in Parliament and the importance of democracy. He then met the School Council and answered questions on Brexit, Windrush and Migration, Syria, and a number of other topics raised by pupils. Following his visit, the Head […]
Update on the Salisbury Incident
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con) Share this contribution Does my right hon. Friend agree that one of our best assets against Russian disinformation and propaganda is the BBC World Service, and will she consider ways of extending its reach, perhaps by incorporating world television? Does she also agree that we need to be very […]
Salisbury Incident
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con) Share this contribution Is it not increasingly clear that we are engaged in hybrid warfare with Russia that includes disinformation, political interference, cyber-attacks and now very possibly this act of attempted murder? In considering how to respond, will my right hon. Friend also look at what additional help we […]
Government Policy on Russia
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con) Share this contribution It is almost exactly four years since the annexation of the sovereign territory of Ukraine in Crimea by Russia. It is two years since the public inquiry concluded that President Putin almost certainly approved the murder of Alexander Litvinenko. Is it not clear therefore that existing […]
Article for the Telegraph on Leveson and the Data Protection Bill
Tomorrow, the House of Commons will debate the Data Protection Bill. This is a vital piece of legislation which is essential to ensuring that our laws are up to date and that we will be able to continue to exchange data with Europe once we leave the European Union. During its passage through the House […]
Leveson
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con) Share this contribution I strongly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Does he agree that, now more than ever, newspapers play a vital role in holding both the Government and the Opposition to account? He is absolutely right that, rather than looking backwards at the events of 10 years […]
Norther Ireland Border
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con) Share this contribution Has my right hon. Friend seen the report prepared by the European Parliament’s policy department for citizens’ rights and constitutional affairs, which concludes that a technical solution allowing free movement of persons under a common travel arrangement and a low-friction border for the movement of goods […]
Family Reunion
I strongly support the principle of family unity, but it is important to note that there are already legal routes for families to be reunited safely that are not dependent on our EU membership. The UK’s family reunion policy is generous, granting over 23,000 family reunion visas over the last five years, and I can […]