Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:26 pm on 4 February 2026.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip), Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office), Lords Spokesperson (Northern Ireland Office), Lords Spokesperson (Wales Office), Lords Spokesperson (Scotland Office)
3:26,
4 February 2026
The noble Lord will be aware that last year, we published our anti-corruption strategy, which outlined the risks posed by corrupt actors who are seeking to influence UK institutions or launder their reputations by engaging in some organisations. As I have said before from this Dispatch Box, we have also recently launched the Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan, which addresses how some state actors use different elements of the state. But the one thing that is incredibly important within the context of all these issues is that fundamentally, our country is run by the Government, and it is Ministers who make final decisions, supported by an impartial Civil Service. Those aspects are key and, while engagement with wider stakeholders is incredibly important and is covered by the Ministerial Code, it is about the integrity of our Ministers and making sure that we have a consistent, impartial Civil Service.
If you've ever seen inside the Commons, you'll notice a large table in the middle - upon this table is a box, known as the dispatch box. When members of the Cabinet or Shadow Cabinet address the house, they speak from the dispatch box. There is a dispatch box for the government and for the opposition. Ministers and Shadow Ministers speak to the house from these boxes.
