Speeches by Whittingdale.

“But there is a conflict. One of your priorities is to raise money to fund your activities through English language examinations and teaching but, equally, there is the agenda of the Foreign Office, which is about the projection of UK influence, particularly into areas where there is perhaps contest. To what extent is t…”

“Can I ask you specifically about the Baltic nations, where there is an enormous effort taking place on the part of Russia, particularly in terms of propaganda? You have already chosen to say that you will close two of the three offices in Estonia and Lithuania. In Lithuania, for instance, 3% of the population are now U…”

“You have announced that you are going to have to consider very significant further headcount reductions and the closure of offices. Can you say something about the criteria under which you determine where the British Council might withdraw from? How do you decide which offices?”

“T2. Whether Essex ends up with three, four or five authorities under the local government reforms, my constituents will certainly come under an authority that is no longer local. As part of the reforms, will more powers be devolved to town and parish councils that are able to understand and properly reflect their local…”

“Are you talking about repeating information that has originally been on RT or is it user-generated content?”

“You have just referred to the use of traditional media such as RT and Sputnik, which is then amplified by influencers and TikTok. Can you tell the extent to which social media is driving that, and is it on other platforms as well as TikTok, such as Telegram or Facebook?”

“You may not be able to answer this, but one of the points made in the House of Commons yesterday afternoon was that messages are seen and interpreted by China. Do you think that the decision not to proceed with the prosecution of two individuals for Chinese espionage is going to send a message that we are weak, and Chi…”

“Who is the target of this? Is it principally the Chinese diaspora, or are they seeking to influence public opinion generally?”

“Could you go on with some examples of other subjects of Chinese disinformation?”

“Mr Kynge referred to the volume of Chinese disinformation in Taiwan in the run-up to the Taiwanese election. Can you, Andrew, and perhaps the others too, talk about the main targets for Chinese disinformation? Taiwan is a clear one, but there are also the Uyghurs, Hong Kong and Tibet. Are these all mass disinformation …”

“You have just mentioned China. I am going back to our earlier session about Chinese activity. Can you quickly describe the extent to which China is a player in this alongside Russia? Are they pursuing similar objectives, and how should we deal with it?”

“Are you talking about repeating information that has originally been on RT or is it user-generated content?”

“You have just referred to the use of traditional media such as RT and Sputnik, which is then amplified by influencers and TikTok. Can you tell the extent to which social media is driving that, and is it on other platforms as well as TikTok, such as Telegram or Facebook?”

“You may not be able to answer this, but one of the points made in the House of Commons yesterday afternoon was that messages are seen and interpreted by China. Do you think that the decision not to proceed with the prosecution of two individuals for Chinese espionage is going to send a message that we are weak, and Chi…”

“Who is the target of this? Is it principally the Chinese diaspora, or are they seeking to influence public opinion generally?”

“Could you go on with some examples of other subjects of Chinese disinformation?”

“Mr Kynge referred to the volume of Chinese disinformation in Taiwan in the run-up to the Taiwanese election. Can you, Andrew, and perhaps the others too, talk about the main targets for Chinese disinformation? Taiwan is a clear one, but there are also the Uyghurs, Hong Kong and Tibet. Are these all mass disinformation …”

“You have just mentioned China. I am going back to our earlier session about Chinese activity. Can you quickly describe the extent to which China is a player in this alongside Russia? Are they pursuing similar objectives, and how should we deal with it?”

“The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. It was important that we had that opportunity. Had we done so, the questions being asked now could have been asked then, and we could have explored rather more why the decision to appoint Lord Mandelson was taken—it is still causing bewilderment to a large number of people. As ha…”

“The hon. Gentleman asks valid questions. We need to have the answers to them all. I know that he will join me in urging the Foreign Affairs Committee to continue pressing this case. It may well be that another body—perhaps the Liaison Committee, which has the opportunity to interrogate the Prime Minister—will also purs…”