Avian Influenza
Sir John Whittingdale(Maldon) (Con) I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. However, the compensation arrangements he outlined will do very little to help small producers such as KellyBronze in my constituency, which lost 9,800 turkeys from a flock of 10,000 in the space of a weekend, before the vet even arrived. Will he […]
BBC Local Radio: Proposed Reduction in Provision
Sir John Whittingdale(Maldon) (Con) I urge my hon. Friend to ask the BBC to think again. Will she remind it that stations such as BBC Essex are greatly valued by listeners and provide a service that is unavailable commercially? Online news is already well supplied by the local media, which is under considerable pressure even […]
Intellectual Property Rights
Sir John Whittingdale(Maldon) (Con) My hon. Friend will be aware of the critical importance of intellectual property protection to all the creative industries. Will he therefore reaffirm the commitment of his predecessor to look again at the proposal of the Intellectual Property Office to expand the exception for text and data mining, which would severely […]
Ukraine Update
Sir John Whittingdale(Maldon) (Con) Given the extraordinary success of the Ukrainian armed forces in pushing back Russian troops, does my right hon. Friend agree that there is a danger that Putin may consider escalating the conflict? While attention has focused on the potential use of battlefield nuclear weapons, does he agree that any use of […]
Technology Platforms: Transparency and Accountability
Sir John Whittingdale(Maldon) (Con) Does my hon. Friend share my concern at the recent behaviour of PayPal in arbitrarily removing certain accounts of campaigning and journalistic organisations without any warning or explanation? Will he consider how the Online Safety Bill can give greater protection for free speech by increasing the accountability of PayPal, Facebook and […]
Tribute to Her Late Majesty The Queen.
John Whittingdale It is a privilege to join hon. Members in paying tribute to Her late Majesty, not just on my own behalf, but on behalf of all the people of the Maldon constituency. Many fine tributes have been given yesterday and today, and many hon. Members have spoken of Her late Majesty’s dedication, commitment, […]
Republic of Belarus (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2022
John Whittingdale(Maldon) (Con) I fully support the measures contained in the SI, although I regret their necessity. In 2018 I led the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union delegation to Belarus. We went there because at that time there was an assessment that Belarus might be inching slightly further away from Russia, and that there […]
Sewage Pollution
John Whittingdale May I thank my right hon. Friend and his Ministers for all that they are doing to tackle this issue. He will be aware of the importance of water quality in areas where oysters are grown such as the Blackwater estuary. What progress is being made to require the water companies to provide […]
Artificial Intelligence and copyright
John Whittingdale I strongly endorse the remarks made by my hon. Friends the Members for Bury St Edmunds (Jo Churchill) and for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge), but may I raise a separate issue with the Secretary of State: the deep concern felt across the creative industries about the proposal in the consultation about relaxing the […]
Intellectual Property
John Whittingdale My right hon. Friend will be aware that yesterday was British IP Day, and that the creative industries for which she is responsible rely on intellectual property protection. Is she aware of the deep concern across the creative industries about proposals to dilute copyright for artificial intelligence, and will she raise the matter […]