Dr Ben Spencer
MP for Runnymede and Weybridge · Conservative · United Kingdom
“However, her former partner requested that the DNA sample be taken at Woodlawn medical centre, a location that was not on Cellmark’s approved list of collection sites. Despite that, the testing kit was sent there.”
“Subsequent investigations by the Department for Work and Pensions and the police confirmed what had happened. An employee of Woodlawn medical centre, Robert Patel, had conspired with Mr Brown and tampered with the DNA testing process. Both Mr Brown and Mr Patel were subsequently convicted and sentenced to prison for fraud.”
“I would like to raise a deeply troubling case that highlights serious concerns about the integrity of DNA testing within the Child Maintenance Service and questions surrounding the existing safeguards in place to protect families.”
“Most importantly, what lessons have been learned to ensure that no other parent or child has to endure the same ordeal? People need to have confidence in paternity testing, whether in child maintenance or other forensic uses. The chain of evidence needs to be secure.”
“The A244 has always had too much traffic and too many heavy goods vehicles on it. It goes through Oxshott in my constituency, and following the roadworks on the M25 and A3, increasing numbers of cars and large vehicles are using it as a shortcut between the A3 and the M25. We need that to stop.”
“I start by thanking the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee and its entire membership for the publication of a very interesting and timely report. Business, academia and the whole tech sector needs clarity, in some ways more than anything else.”
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“The Government must undertake an urgent review to identify companies whose failure as the result of a cyber-attack would present a comparable risk to the UK economy to that on JLR. Failing to address all the urgent problems will leave an open goal for malicious cyber-actors to undermine the UK’s security and prosperity. The House is unlikely to revisit cyber-security legislation for some time. The threat to our economy and national security from malicious cyber-actors is one of the most serious we face as a country. In the parliamentary debate after MI5’s China espionage briefing, the Minister for Security pledged to strengthen the legislative tools available to disrupt the threat. Why not use the opportunity presented by the Bill to address that head-on?”
“I am pleased that the Government managed, at the last moment, to push out the cyber action plan today. It acknowledges the challenge, but how it will ensure that change is delivered is unclear. Attacks on household names such as Jaguar Land Rover, Marks & Spencer and the Co-op have raised public awareness of the risks we face, with consumer supply chains interrupted and jobs put in peril. However, the Bill would not have prevented those attacks had it been in force when they took place. Given the constraints on public finances as a result of the Chancellor’s reckless Budget decisions, the Government need to ask themselves how many cyber-attacks of the magnitude of that on JLR we can afford to bankroll.”
“It is no coincidence that several recent cyber-incidents have targeted organs of Government, with malicious actors rightly perceiving that many of our Departments are the weakest links in the cyber-security ecosystem. The National Audit Office’s 2025 report on Government cyber-resilience laid bare the inconsistent, and in some cases glacial, progress of the Government in making effective improvements in cyber-resilience. Last month’s attack on Home Office IT systems is a stark reminder of the urgency of improving Government cyber-security. His Majesty’s official Opposition have received a clear message from cyber-industry stakeholders: the Government should be leading from the front and setting the standard for effective cyber-resilience.”
“Furthermore, in December 2025 the Government confirmed that they had sanctioned two Chinese companies for perpetrating what they described as indiscriminate cyber-attacks on the UK public and private sector IT systems. These are not isolated incidents. They are evidence of a concerted and intensifying campaign on the part of the Chinese Communist party and its affiliates to undermine vital public services and UK businesses. How our country, and how our democratic allies and partners, face the threat of hostile state actors, working in concert, is an epoch-defining challenge. It is a challenge that we must meet, or we will live to regret it.”
“The evidence is clear: the Chinese Communist party is one of the greatest national security threats that our country faces. In November last year, Mr Speaker took the exceptional step of circulating a briefing from MI5 warning of the widespread efforts of individuals and organisations working on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security to target Parliament for intelligence gathering. In the intervening weeks we have learned that Home Office systems were accessed, apparently by a Chinese state-affiliate group. Reports have circulated that the attack is linked to the Chinese gang Storm 1849, previously connected with cyber-attacks on MPs and the Electoral Commission.”
“Members for Congleton (Sarah Russell), for Northampton South (Mike Reader), for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin), for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington), and for Mid Cheshire (Andrew Cooper). The gravest and the most pernicious risks to UK cyber-security go completely unaddressed by this Bill. Cyber is the emerging battlefield of state security, with hostile state actors ramping up their efforts to disrupt our society, our economy and our democracy apace. Time and again in this Parliament, the Government have baulked at acknowledging the elephant—or, in this case, the dragon—in the room when it comes to matters of national security. Last year the director of GCHQ, the UK’s intelligence and cyber-security agency, confirmed that it devotes more resource to China than any other single mission.”
“Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) made an important point about physical technology and the risk of threats from cellular modules. My hon. Friend the Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Alison Griffiths) also spoke about her own experience and, in particular, about the importance of the Government’s ensuring that the Bill has an impact. The hon. Member for Ceredigion Preseli (Ben Lake) mentioned digital sovereignty, another important issue which we have discussed on many occasions in this place. We also heard from the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western), the Chair of the Select Committee; from the hon. Members for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West (Dame Chi Onwurah) and for South East Cornwall (Anna Gelderd); from the right hon. Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds); and from the hon.”
“It is too important an issue to play partisan politics with. As a responsible Opposition, we will work with the Government to get the approach to this legislation correct. Many Members have made insightful contributions today. My right hon. Friend the Member for Hertsmere (Sir Oliver Dowden), who has great experience in this regard, raised the issue of hostile state actors and gave the Ministers some practical advice on which I hope they will reflect. My hon. Friend the Member for Exmouth and Exeter East (David Reed) spoke about his professional experience and about the need for proportionate regulations and modification of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, which was mentioned by several other Members. My hon.”
“The cyber Bill should be one of the most fundamentally important pieces of legislation the House will consider in this Parliament, because the UK’s cyber-resilience is a cornerstone of the foremost duty of Government: the protection of the people. The shadow Secretary of State has already made clear that His Majesty’s official Opposition appreciate the urgent need to act to protect our society, our economy and our security in the face of growing and evolving cyber-security risks. The cyber Bill, however, is a Bill of missed opportunities. It would not have stopped the JLR or Marks & Spencer cyber-attacks. It is silent on the threats from hostile state actors, and it does not answer the fundamental question of: if NIS1 was not enforced, what difference will further regulations make? Cyber-security is key to our national security.”
“Fourteen months is a long time for farmers to have the sword of Damocles over their heads. Many still do, because this is only a partial U-turn in the policy. The Minister has said many, many times today that he is and has been listening to farmers, but will it take another 14 months before he hears them and scraps this policy altogether?”
“As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Nordic countries, I am very grateful for the comments of the Foreign Secretary and the Leader of the Opposition on Denmark and Greenland. I am also grateful that the Foreign Secretary confirmed just a few moments ago that she and the Prime Minister have been raising directly the issue of respect for the sovereignty of that key NATO ally. Why, then, did it take so long for the Prime Minister to publicly espouse his support, which was so delayed after Sweden, Finland and other countries did so?”
“The need for gravel extraction at the site remains to be seen, bearing in mind that we are expecting the River Thames scheme, which will produce a lot of aggregate as part of the construction process. The traffic in the area is highly stretched, to say the least. Inappropriate HGVs going down small roads in Egham with level crossings are already causing traffic carnage.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Alberto Costa) for his highly technical and broad speech, and particularly for his points about the environmental concerns about quarries. I want to talk about Whitehall farm and the surrounding area, in which there have been several applications for gravel extraction by Cemex. That part of my patch used to be entirely in the Runnymede and Weybridge constituency but, as a consequence of the boundary review, is now on the border between it and Windsor. The area is a wholly inappropriate place to build a gravel pit for a whole range of reasons.”
“It is clear from the intervention from the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) and from what my hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire said that this issue affects a lot of constituencies. The best defence against inappropriate development is close working among community groups and elected representatives. Will the Minister comment on how Labour changes to planning infrastructure will hamstring our ability to stand up for our local residents?”
“Aside from all the problems with the site, which I have been campaigning against, it is a really good example of the importance of community and elected representatives working together to stop something that does not work. Over the years, several applications have been made for the site, and I have worked closely with other elected representatives and the community group to oppose them. I pay particular tribute to Residents Against Gravel Extraction and Professor Moreton Moore, who has done a huge amount of technical work to fight against the site, and local councillors, particularly Councillor Jonathan Hulley, who has worked to oppose the developments. I am pleased that, as a consequence of the boundary review, my hon. Friend the Member for Windsor (Jack Rankin) will join us. I know that he will also work to prevent the site.”
“That is a very good point. Of course we need aggregates to be produced, particularly for the construction sector. I find it confusing that there has been such a push for the site at Whitehall farm. Industry and the residential sector need to work with each other. We need industry because people want jobs, but there are egregious examples, such as the one I mentioned in my constituency, that just do not make sense. I will expand on that point later. To go back to the issues with Whitehall farm, the broader traffic impact would be highly problematic, as would the pollution impact, particularly for a local school that is downstream. There would also be a flooding risk if gravel extraction goes ahead.”
“Brilliant. I am so grateful to the Minister for giving way, and I am glad that she has reflected on the importance in our democracy of Members being able to raise points with Ministers—something that I mentioned in my speech in terms of local representation. Given that she is explaining, in effect, that the system is perfect and there is nothing to see here, could she comment on why so many Members decided to participate in the debate?”
“With that in mind, will the Minister provide an update on the Government’s plans to support growth in the UK AI industry, including in relation to securing lawful access to reliable datasets for training?”
“AI has become indispensable to our defence capacity and security. The ability of AI to detect and neutralise cyber and biosecurity threats will become increasingly vital. High-tech AI drone warfare has drastically changed the nature of conflict, as we see in Ukraine. Put simply, the UK, working wherever possible with its international allies and partners, must be in a position to counter the deployment of AI systems that disregard the norms and ethics that the UK seeks to uphold. We cannot afford to be left behind. We must develop our capabilities at speed, by tackling the barriers to the development of the UK AI industry, including the high costs of energy and the availability of investment. We must ensure that we are alive to, and safeguard against, the most serious emerging risks.”
“AI has the potential to revolutionise service delivery and improve productivity on an unprecedented scale, and those productivity gains can drive much-needed improvements in our overstretched public services, hospitals, local authorities, court services and prisons, to name but a few. The rapid processing of routine tasks will lead to better and quicker service provision across the board. Perhaps the most pressing issue is the role that AI will play in the defence of our country. Some hon. Members have spoken about the existential risk posed to humanity by the most powerful AI models, but in an era of regional conflict and intensifying global competition, the notion that hostile state actors will observe international protocols on AI development are naive at best and dangerous at worst.”
“However, it is clear that we need a plan that ensures that our education system equips children with the skills necessary for the jobs of the future, and a strategy to prepare and, where necessary, retrain the parts of our workforce that stand to be the most affected by changes to the employment market brought about by AI. We need to be alert to the risks and changes that AI development brings—AI must always be the agent and never the principal—but we must not lose sight of the tremendous opportunities that it offers. The UK should be at the forefront of developing artificial intelligence and reap the benefits of a substantial home-grown AI industry.”
“Having stated in their manifesto that they would bring in “binding regulation” for the “most powerful AI models”, the can has been repeatedly kicked down the road, with the Secretary of State suggesting during a SIT Committee evidence session earlier this month that there would be no generally applicable AI legislation in this Parliament. The uncertainty caused by the Government’s failure to be clear about their plans for AI regulation damages public confidence in this developing technology. Crucially, it also undermines business confidence, with a chilling knock-on effect on investment and innovation. We appreciate that AI regulation is far from straightforward, given the rapidly evolving innovations, challenges and developments, and we caution against going down the route that the EU has taken for AI regulation.”
“The recent report of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee has also highlighted the risks to democratic integrity posed by cyber-bots pushing out AI-generated deepfake material purporting to represent authentic political content to distort public narratives, particularly during elections. We clearly need to go further to address those important and growing risks, so I would be grateful if the Minister could provide an update on those two points. Despite much rhetoric, the Government have been completely inconsistent regarding their intentions on AI legislation.”
“It is right that policymakers act quickly to address serious and specific threats when they emerge, and we welcome the Government’s recent action on measures to tackle AI-generated child sexual abuse images. Recently, other hon. Members and I have pressed the Government to clarify the application of the Online Safety Act to one-to-one and personal agent AI chatbots. The Minister has confirmed that the Government have commissioned work to look at whether there are any loopholes in the Act that would mean that some AI chatbot services are unregulated.”
“Members have observed, the advent of artificial intelligence entails risks but is also a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The previous Government were acutely aware of putting the UK at the forefront of both intergovernmental and industry discussions regarding the development of AI. They convened the world’s first AI safety summit, which took place at Bletchley Park in late 2023 and which many Members have referenced, and established the AI Safety Institute—now renamed the AI Security Institute—in the same year. Reports about the risks to children’s safety posed by tools such as one-to-one and personal agent chatbots promoting suicide and self-harm content are of great concern.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Butler. I am very grateful to the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed) for bringing this important debate to the House today. He gave a very thoughtful speech, which reflected his clearly very strongly held beliefs about the risks that AI poses. It was quite a broad and wide-ranging debate, and a very interesting one. I will try to be quite brief because I am really keen to hear the hon. Member’s response, along with that of the Minister. We heard some great points about biased data, shadow banning, the impact on BSL, large language models producing, in effect, regulated advice, and the need for AI in the curriculum—and, of course, copyright came up. What happens when AI is used to mimic MPs’ output—something I suspect our AI Prime Minister also uses? As hon.”
“That would mean proper train services for the children going to school in my constituency and the people who depend on commuting to get to work and to see their families. It would end the last-minute train cancellations that have seemed to be more frequent in the past few months. As a regular South Western Railways user—I live in Chertsey in my constituency—I see the impact that that is having on my constituents. We also need improvements to accessibility. It is completely scandalous that the lift at Weybridge station is still out of service. Accessibility problems are not limited to lifts; they also affect stations themselves. Services need to be responsive to the needs of my constituents, but passengers are too often punished when engineering works take place on our tracks, causing traffic carnage for the weekend.”
“I am sure that that experience is replicated for schools across the local area. The Chertsey-Addlestone loop is punished by level crossings, including in Addlestone and Egham. The Pooley Green level crossing has had downtimes of over 10 minutes, including just a couple of months ago. Constituents tell me that they do not go to the fish and chip shop and other businesses on the other side of the level crossing because of those downtimes. Whatever happens with the Bill, it is absolutely critical that there are improvements to the level crossings at Egham, Addlestone and across my constituency, so that we have data, such as from downtime monitors, to see the impact that the problem has on traffic. We need timetabling that changes not in a click of the fingers but with proper consultation with residents about what is happening.”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. My mission for my constituents is to keep Runnymede and Weybridge moving. Supporting and improving our train services is a vital part of delivering that. On the changes that the Bill delivers for people across my constituency, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. I will give an example of how much this means to them. Salesian school in my constituency takes in many children from the local and surrounding areas. They use the Chertsey to Addlestone branch line, which is one of South Western Railway’s worst-performing lines. As a result, they are very often late to school, and the school has to allocate teachers to the platforms for safety purposes, because the platforms become crowded when there are delays. That has serious material impacts on those children’s education.”
“The Elections Act 2022 expanded the franchise to over 3 million British nationals living overseas. As MPs, we have a duty to represent those who have lived in our constituencies, but we do not know who they are or where they are. How can our embassies help?”
“Expectation management is normally deployed because something is not so great. The scene is set that things are going to be really bad, so that when the day arrives, people think, “Actually, that thing we thought wouldn’t be so good is actually quite good.” However, the expectation management around this Budget has been six months of doom, gloom and terror. My constituents and everyone I know has been dreading what would come out on 26 November. Worse than that, we have seen crashing business confidence and the floating of taxes of all different shapes and forms. I am surprised that we have not seen a tax on taxes themselves being floated by the Chancellor or her Department in recent months. We saw a U-turn on the Budget before it was announced, and then an announcement on the Budget half an hour before the Budget was even delivered.”
“We have yet another Budget of higher welfare paid by tax. There has been a lot of focus in this debate on poverty and childhood poverty. That is absolutely right; it is a really important subject to tackle. It is important that we help all families, and everyone, out of poverty in the best way, but we fix and work towards resolving child poverty by ensuring that people have jobs and by focusing on the tax—”
“I suggest the hon. Member looks at the OBR report, which, as I mentioned, was released half an hour before the Chancellor stood up and which goes into detail about why that statement is entirely false. Surrey is one of the biggest contributors to taxation revenue. It is my constituents who will be particularly hit, if not targeted, by the Budget measures. I hear their frustrations all the time about the amount of money we contribute and the lack of reciprocity when it comes to investment in Surrey so we can continue to be an economic powerhouse. My constituents worry about the future, particularly about what the Budget means for opportunities for their kids and about the debt that we are laying on them because of decisions made today. Sadly, this Budget and the one before it show that Labour is totally unable to rein in spending.”
“If the hon. Lady will forgive me, I do not know the specific details regarding her constituency, but what I can say on the broader, macroeconomic details is that the reduction in employment as a consequence of national insurance contributions changes means that there are more children with parents who do not have jobs.”
“I am so pleased that the hon. Member raised the point about people who are in work but still poor. I will come on to that in relation to tackling child poverty, so if she waits a second, I will respond to her questions in full. For the moment, I want to concentrate on the more macro costs point. Food inflation has gone up to 4.9%. Food costs are a big chunk of daily spending, especially for people who are poorer. That is a direct result of decisions to raise employer national insurance contributions. It turns out that taxes on businesses get passed on to working people.”
“When the Work and Pensions Committee looked at in-work poverty costs—the right hon. Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms), who is in his place, was the Chair at the time—one of the things that really came out, through and through, was that lots of the families in difficulty were single-parent families and they struggled with the 28 hours’ provision because of childcare costs and the marginal benefit. We also need to look at cliff edges in relation to housing allowance and council tax. We need to get rid of the cliff edges to ensure that work always truly pays. Also really important in helping child poverty is making sure that the child maintenance system works. There are plenty of families with a parent who should be supporting their child but is not doing so. That is absolutely scandalous and it needs to be fixed.”
“Who knew, indeed. Energy costs are a big chunk of everybody’s outgoings, and we are still waiting for them to come down. Property costs also are a big chunk of people’s outgoings, and this is reducing and putting more pressure on the private rented sector, particularly landlords. The measures in the Budget today around the increased taxation on property revenue will be passed on to the consumer—that is, people who are renting—adding yet another cost pressure. I wish Labour Members would think through what happens not just in step one of a Budget intervention but in steps two, three and four in relation to the impact on their constituents. One way to deal with child poverty is to look at the cliff edges of the taxation system, including the wrapping down of universal credit when someone works for 28 hours.”
“It is fundamentally unfair to say to one group of people who are making difficult budgetary decisions in relation to having more children, “You’re going to be taxed more so that you can pay for other people who are not subject to those difficult budgetary decisions because they are not employed at the moment.” That is fundamentally not fair.”
“I invite the hon. Member to look at the report that Parliament released on the reform of child maintenance, particularly on the barriers that were set up in the system, both in terms of direct and indirect payments. I think all of us across the House would agree that the child maintenance system needs reform. The issue with the two-child benefit cap is that most, if not all, parents love their children and would like to have more children, should money, time and other things— [ Interruption. ] Okay, I stand corrected, but people make decisions when planning their families based on the resources they have, whether those are personal resources, time or money.”
“No, I am sorry. Other colleagues want to get in. This Budget is unfair. Fairness is about honouring promises made and delivering on the Government’s responsibility to govern for all. Fairness is about making sure that opportunities are available to everyone, not just those who work hard, and that those who work hard to grasp them are not penalised for their efforts. Taxes should be used to improve security, services, growth and prosperity, not to garner political support. Fairness is not mortgaging away our children’s future on an ever-spiralling amount of debt.”
“My constituency is on the outskirts of London—we are not in London; we are very much in Surrey—but we suffer from the fact that many decisions that affect my constituents on a daily basis are made in London, often to our detriment, and we have absolutely no control over them. I recognise the strong point my hon. Friend is making, but even if he is able to withdraw from the administrative unit of London, he will not escape negative decision making by the current Mayor of London.”
“I beg the Minister to announce, either in winding up, via a written ministerial statement or otherwise the confirmation of a mayor for Surrey and a guarantee that next year’s elections will go ahead. Will she also explain how my constituents can be shielded from other councils’ debt as part of the unitary reforms that are going ahead?”
“A mayor would bring huge benefits in leading on strategic projects such as the River Thames scheme that I have been trying to push to be built as soon as possible. It would also bring benefits in health, with accountability for integrated care boards—again, I have been calling for that—and on transport locally. I have been calling for a duty to co-ordinate, which I think a mayor with powers would also be able to deliver for Surrey. In housing, I am calling for the prevention of inappropriate local development, which is blighting areas across Runnymede and Weybridge and which will affect both the east and west unitaries when they are set up. In policing, given that the Government have announced that they will wrap up the police and crime commissioners, we need a mayor to take on the role at the cut-off date of 2028.”
“On the face of it, ideally, going for one unitary would mean savings, but the Government have decided that is not possible, so, through various processes, the decision has been made to have two unitaries. That has all been done in pursuit of a mayor. A mayor would make a big difference in ensuring that Surrey can, as the Government put it, unlock devolution. It is frustrating that we have got to this stage—all this work has been done—but there has still been no firm commitment that Surrey will get a mayor, particularly when a unitary model is being adopted purely to seek a mayor when, actually, a better model locally would be a single unitary. I see the Minister nodding; I am sure she can see that conundrum and how there is frustration about the fact that a mayor has not yet been announced.”
“Yesterday, my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne (Lincoln Jopp), asked the Minister whether Surrey will get a mayor. He did not get much of an answer—we can only imagine what has led the Government over the past year to get cold feet on the election of mayors going forwards. I want to talk about new clause 1 and amendment 2, on consent for change, in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmonds) on behalf of the official Opposition. Surrey and others have been working with the Government to maximise the opportunities of devolution locally. As part of that, there has been quite a debate over the unitary model and whether there should be two, three or one unitary authorities.”
“I am sure we will have a unanimous view not only in the House but in society of the importance of removing such material. The regulations will work only if they are adopted by the industry and subject to rigorous oversight, coupled with enforcement when platforms fail in their obligations. That is a necessity, and why we had to introduce the Online Safety Act in the first place. It is right that Government regulators should look to identify obstacles to the implementation of the OSA and take action where necessary. Since the introduction of Ofcom’s protection of children codes in the summer, important questions have arisen around the use of virtual private networks to circumvent age verification, as well as data security and privacy in the age-verification process.”
“It is therefore right that this statutory instrument brings cyber-flashing within the scope of the priority offences in schedule 7 to the Online Safety Act, while retaining as a priority offence the sharing of or threatening to share intimate images. We also strongly support the addition as a priority offence of encouraging or assisting serious self-harm, which is the other important component of this statutory instrument. Desperate people who contemplate self-harm need early intervention and support, not encouragement to self-harm. Under this SI, regulated services will be obliged to proactively remove the material when they become aware of it on their platforms and take measures to prevent it from appearing in the first place. One can only wonder why it has taken so long to get to this position.”
“Under the last Government, the OSA amended the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to criminalise several forms of sexual misconduct and abusive behaviour online. The new offences included cyber-flashing and the sharing of or threatening to share intimate images without consent. The amendments were made to keep pace with novel threats and forms of abuse, the victims of which are too often women and girls. Baroness Bertin’s independent review of pornography, which was published in February this year, highlighted the damaging impact on victims of intimate image abuse, ranging from physical illness to mental health effects such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts. The effects of cyber-flashing and intimate image abuse on victims is severe.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. This statutory instrument represents an important development in the obligations on platforms regulated under the Online Safety Act to protect people from encountering illegal content online. The OSA was enacted by the last Government with the primary aim of safeguarding children and removing serious illegal material from the internet. Tackling the most harmful content, such as that which is the subject of today’s discussion, goes to the heart of the Online Safety Act’s aims. His Majesty’s Opposition therefore welcome and support the draft regulations. The experiences and opportunities offered by the online world change rapidly. It is right that legislators are responsive when new risks emerge or when certain types of unlawful content proliferate on the internet.”
“I recognise that he is commissioning Ofcom to look at the issue, but in his view, right now, is there a gap that will need someone to fix it? What are his reflections on that? This is increasingly becoming a priority area that we need to resolve. If there is a gap in legislation, we need to get on and sort it.”