Speeches by Onwurah.

“The original sin underpinning many of today’s digital harms is engagement-driven digital advertising. That is what incentivised the platforms to hook young people on infinite scrolling, as members of FlippGen explained to me when I met them on Monday. It is also what drives the “London is broken” misinformation that Sa…”

“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition, who is no longer in her place, said that 1.5 million extra people were on universal credit. She will know that this is a deeply misleading number, because it is largely a consequence of the transition from legacy systems to universal credit—her background i…”

“I applaud the Government’s move to use the £400 billion of public procurement—almost one eighth of British GDP—in the interests of the British people and the British economy. The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee has often heard that a Government contract is worth more than a Government grant to the start-up…”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. On Tuesday evening, in the midst of a succession of votes, the technology supporting the world’s oldest continuous Parliament failed. I thank the Clerks and support staff for their speedy response and the quick transition to the old paper system, and the Whips for the effectiv…”

“I thank the hon. Member for her question and her contribution to the Committee, which is always driven by a desire to ensure that technology works for people in this country. Her questioning of the tech companies about their approach to children was very illustrative of a lack of concern about the outcomes on children.…”

“I thank the hon. Member for his question, as well as his valuable work and concerns in this area. I echo his concerns about mental wellbeing and eating disorders. The Committee heard evidence that a false account of a young girl aged 14 or 15 was inundated within a few hours with misinformation about unhealthy eating a…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for her contribution to the Committee, which is always rooted in and driven by her profound understanding both of biological and chemical sciences and of the life of a woman scientist in the research community. To the two points that my hon. Friend made, the industry has not …”

“I pay tribute to the hon. Member for his work on the Committee. It is always incisive and rooted in a desire to get the evidence. I agree with him. I understand the big tech companies are in No. 10 Downing Street this morning talking—or I hope listening—to the Prime Minister about this very subject: the importance of c…”

“It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairship for the very first time, Ms Butler. As you know very well, digital technology is no longer simply a tool or a luxury plaything; it is a foundational part of our way of life here in Britain, like the electricity that powers our kettles or indeed the very air we breath…”

“The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee has heard extensive and at times horrific evidence of the harms that AI chatbots can do, such as encouragement to suicide. I welcome Lords amendment 367, which gives the Government the power to amend the Online Safety Act, and I accept that the Government are seeking to …”

“3. What steps his Department is taking to help reduce levels of homelessness among women in the Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West constituency.”

“Fresh from a weekend knocking on doors, I can confirm to the Prime Minister that on the streets of my constituency there is no appetite for further involvement in this war. There are some—including, apparently, the Leader of the Opposition—who say that while they might not have chosen to start the war, now that the bom…”

“I thank the Minister for that response and welcome the increased investment in tackling homelessness in Newcastle, which is transforming lives. Homeless women are both more vulnerable and less visible. The Women’s Homelessness Alliance North East showed recently just how serious a problem this is. Through a proactive a…”

“In his excellent report, Sir Philip Rycroft specifically references the amplification of divisive content on social media. Yesterday my Committee heard from TikTok, Meta and X how in each case the design of their algorithm is determined by a foreign billionaire with a political agenda. Certainly when it comes to Mr Mus…”

“I was very impressed by that, but I am not sure that further US investment in the UK actually drives UK technology capability. I want to come to how we support new technology investment across Europe. At the Munich security conference, you berated our European allies for having 10 types of main battle tank, while the U…”

“You are choosing to support AI through the growth zones. In terms of quantum, you have chosen quantum computing to focus on. I am not clear how you are making those choices. How does UK Research and Innovation’s decision to cut nuclear physics research programmes fit into that?”

“Just how are we making those decisions? When you say “move at pace”, do you have a strategy for identifying the sovereign capabilities that have been talked about specifically in technology?”

“The digital battlefield is here, in Ukraine and in Iran. A US company, Palantir, is at the heart of our digital defence. Are you concerned that we are too reliant on AI, quantum and/or drone capabilities provided by private foreign companies that do not share our values or might even be closely allied with our adversar…”

“It is good that we are learning from Ukraine on drones. However, I mentioned Palantir. That defence contract was not publicly tendered. Equally, Palantir is at the heart of the NHS, local government, and financial regulation, while Amazon Web Services and Microsoft have 70% of UK cloud between them. The US Government h…”

“Prime Minister, let me start by emphasising the support that I have found in Newcastle for your continuing position of resisting further involvement in the war on Iran. Now, following Liam’s points about your economic security priorities, you recently announced significant investment in quantum and AI, each of which is…”