Intelligence and Security Committee Report on Russia

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:35 pm on 5 November 2019.

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Photo of David Davis David Davis Conservative, Haltemprice and Howden 12:35, 5 November 2019

When the Minister talked about the ISC, he referred to the Justice and Security Act 2013—the latest Act that crystallised the practical approach to the running of the ISC in the years since it was created by the Intelligence Services Act 1994. That Act created an arrangement for the Committee that balanced national security with the right to scrutiny and redaction and the right of the Prime Minister to approve the report before it is released. It rested on balance and on both sides—the House and the Government—treating the other side fairly. That is what is missing here. By not releasing the report, all the Minister does is create a vacuum for the paranoid fantasies we have heard from the Opposition to fill.