Speeches by McDougall.

“The SNP-led Glasgow city council is proposing to introduce a car tax on East Renfrewshire motorists, so that every time my constituents enter Glasgow city, they would have to pay a fee. Could she make time for a debate on the enormous levels of waste by the SNP Government on things like Barlinnie Prison, which is 10 ti…”

“May I join you, Mr Speaker, in congratulating the Minister on his nuptials? I thank him for the lead he has taken on Georgia. He will know, because he has recently been in Georgia, that over the summer the situation has dramatically worsened: opposition leaders have been jailed, young democracy activists have been give…”

“5. What diplomatic steps he is taking to help protect democracy in Georgia.”

“I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision to remove Crown immunity as it applies to prisons for the purposes of health and safety legislation. Katie Allen lived in Clarkston in East Renfrewshire. She had a loving family and a very happy childhood. She was bright and did well at school. She…”

“My question was whether there is specific guidance on the China audit going out across Government to say, “Here is what the advice should be.””

“You see our frustration about how we can play any sort of effective role in talking about this when not only is the audit secret, but the guidance coming out of the audit is secret as well.”

“For exercising rights that the Chinese signed up to guarantee.”

“Finally, Jimmy Lai is still detained under incredibly dubious legal circumstances and is denied consular access. He is in advancing years, and in ill health. The United States sanctioned the individuals responsible for that in 2020. I know you are working hard through gentle, behind-the-scenes diplomacy, but at what po…”

“My concern is less about whether we get to see the sexy secret stuff and more about the breadth of how the relationship with China will impact every part of society in the coming years. Germany published its China strategy. Will anything that is publicly available come out of the China audit so that all the sectors and…”

“May I explore a little further the classified nature of the China audit, which we spoke about with the permanent secretary earlier? The concern with the earlier conversation was that not only the audit itself, but the strategy coming out of the audit is classified. It was clear from your statement that the Government v…”

“On the nature of the appointment, when the Committee was in Washington, we met with the presidential envoy on hostage affairs, and they were really clear in saying that their effectiveness was in large part down to the very clear mandate that they had which gave them a sort of quasi-independence within the State Depart…”

“On the appointment?”

“Foreign Secretary, if you glance out of the window to the left, you will see the hospital where the mother of Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been gravely ill and on hunger strike. The loved ones of lots of those who suffer from arbitrary detention will be watching, whether it is her family, or those of Ryan Cornelius, Jimmy La…”

“The Foreign Secretary told Parliament that the majority of documents that form the China audit were classified as secret or higher. On that basis, what proportion of your team within the Foreign Office will be able to see the China audit?”

“Sure, but my question was in terms of the whole of the FCDO staff. What proportion of them will be able to see the China audit, given its classification?”

“I guess the difficulty with a secret audit and Government strategy is how do you know what you do not know? As a civil servant, how do you know that you are supposed to have information that is within the document? How do you operationalise something that is secret?”

“Just to be clear, the audit was secret; is the strategy you are talking about classified as well?”

“The concern, which the Chair referred to earlier on, is that this is supposed to be something that co-ordinates across Government. Your Department has, I am guessing, the highest or second-highest level of staff who do have clearance to see both the audit and the strategy, but most of Government will not. Given that th…”

“How will they know? What will be given to people so that they know what they are supposed to ask for?”

“Is guidance going out across Government to say, “Here are the sort of things you should be coming to the China audit team to ask advice on.”?”