I thank the Minister for her response and the noble Lords, Lord Vaizey and Lord Markham, for their contributions. I cannot help feeling that the approach to this by the noble Lord, Lord Vaizey, is coloured by his history as a Minister. I can understand that because I saw the...

I thank the Minister for her response and the noble Lords, Lord Vaizey and Lord Markham, for their contributions. I cannot help feeling that the approach to this by the noble Lord, Lord Vaizey, is coloured by his history as a Minister. I can understand that because I saw the...

Moved by

Lord Clement-Jones

164: After Clause 58, insert the following new Clause—

“Computer Misuse Act 1990: statutory defence for cyber security activities

(1) The Secretary of State must, within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, carry out and publish a review of whether the introduction of a statutory...

Moved by

Lord Clement-Jones

164: After Clause 58, insert the following new Clause—

“Computer Misuse Act 1990: statutory defence for cyber security activities

(1) The Secretary of State must, within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, carry out and publish a review of whether the introduction of a statutory...

My Lords, Amendment 164 is in my name and, I am delighted to say, that of the noble Lord, Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom. Sadly, he is tied up next door with matters of national security—I hope that I am not giving away any secrets—and is unable to speak to this...

My Lords, Amendment 164 is in my name and, I am delighted to say, that of the noble Lord, Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom. Sadly, he is tied up next door with matters of national security—I hope that I am not giving away any secrets—and is unable to speak to this...

My Lords, I strongly support the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, whether technically or in spirit. He is right to point out how outdated the Computer Misuse Act is and that its blanket prohibition on undertaking cyber security activities without any public interest defence is ridiculous.

The noble Lord’s...

My Lords, I strongly support the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, whether technically or in spirit. He is right to point out how outdated the Computer Misuse Act is and that its blanket prohibition on undertaking cyber security activities without any public interest defence is ridiculous.

The noble Lord’s...

My Lords, the campaign to reform the Computer Misuse Act is at least 10 years old, not just five. We—including me—have been working to try to get the provision that is contained in the amendment before us from the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones. I endorse every single word that he...

My Lords, the campaign to reform the Computer Misuse Act is at least 10 years old, not just five. We—including me—have been working to try to get the provision that is contained in the amendment before us from the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones. I endorse every single word that he...

My Lords, I will speak briefly in support of the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, which he so comprehensively set out. I did not mention this at Second Reading because I thought it was so self-evidently sensible that this needed to be fixed. I should know better, having...

My Lords, I will speak briefly in support of the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, which he so comprehensively set out. I did not mention this at Second Reading because I thought it was so self-evidently sensible that this needed to be fixed. I should know better, having...

My Lords, one of the advantages of being in this Committee Room for these debates in Committee is that I can use Claude—I hope that is allowed—to answer the question of what the cyber security community thinks about the Computer Misuse Act. The answer comes back in bold. I will...

My Lords, one of the advantages of being in this Committee Room for these debates in Committee is that I can use Claude—I hope that is allowed—to answer the question of what the cyber security community thinks about the Computer Misuse Act. The answer comes back in bold. I will...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, for introducing this amendment and the noble Lord, Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom, whom I see in his place. I am sorry he was unable to attend the beginning of this debate, but we are told it was for very good reasons....

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, for introducing this amendment and the noble Lord, Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom, whom I see in his place. I am sorry he was unable to attend the beginning of this debate, but we are told it was for very good reasons....

I am grateful to the noble Lord for raising this topic through his amendment, and I recognise the strength of feeling on reforming the Computer Misuse Act. I agree that the UK should have the right legislative framework to allow us to tackle the threats posed by cyber criminals.

The Home...

I am grateful to the noble Lord for raising this topic through his amendment, and I recognise the strength of feeling on reforming the Computer Misuse Act. I agree that the UK should have the right legislative framework to allow us to tackle the threats posed by cyber criminals.

The Home...

I thank the Minister for that response. The noble Lord, Lord Vaizey, said that we know what the Minister will say: that it will be in a future piece of legislation. To that extent, we are pleased that at least we have a commitment to it, but this has been...

I thank the Minister for that response. The noble Lord, Lord Vaizey, said that we know what the Minister will say: that it will be in a future piece of legislation. To that extent, we are pleased that at least we have a commitment to it, but this has been...

Moved by

Lord Markham

174E: After Clause 58, insert the following new Clause—

“Increasing resilience by reducing data retention

(1) The Secretary of State must, within one month of the day on which this Act is passed, open a consultation on the potential impact of minimising data collection and increasing data anonymisation on the...

Moved by

Lord Markham

174E: After Clause 58, insert the following new Clause—

“Increasing resilience by reducing data retention

(1) The Secretary of State must, within one month of the day on which this Act is passed, open a consultation on the potential impact of minimising data collection and increasing data anonymisation on the...

Amendment 174E in my name and those of my noble friends Lord Camrose and Lord Holmes builds on the point I made in the debate last Thursday that the best defence in cyber is, of course, not to present an attractive target in the first place.

I go back to my...

Amendment 174E in my name and those of my noble friends Lord Camrose and Lord Holmes builds on the point I made in the debate last Thursday that the best defence in cyber is, of course, not to present an attractive target in the first place.

I go back to my...

My Lords, despite the fact that this is the last group, it is a really important area and this amendment rightly reflects that. We strongly support Amendment 174E. It would introduce a fundamentally elegant and highly necessary cyber security principle that the Bill has otherwise completely ignored: that of data...

My Lords, despite the fact that this is the last group, it is a really important area and this amendment rightly reflects that. We strongly support Amendment 174E. It would introduce a fundamentally elegant and highly necessary cyber security principle that the Bill has otherwise completely ignored: that of data...

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Markham, for raising this important issue again. Good data hygiene and security is essential to ensuring that public bodies are resilient to cyber attacks. Through the Bill, we are better protecting data, to make our essential services safer and more secure for all those...

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Markham, for raising this important issue again. Good data hygiene and security is essential to ensuring that public bodies are resilient to cyber attacks. Through the Bill, we are better protecting data, to make our essential services safer and more secure for all those...

In the spirit of her final remarks on the Bill overall, is the Minister able to give any update as to when the national cyber action plan might emerge?

In the spirit of her final remarks on the Bill overall, is the Minister able to give any update as to when the national cyber action plan might emerge?

I have nothing further to add what I have said in previous sittings.

I have nothing further to add what I have said in previous sittings.

Nice try. I will get the final word then. First, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, for his strong support. Honey pot is a very descriptive and apt term for it. I thank the Minister for her comments and will definitely take up her offer of a meeting. I...

Nice try. I will get the final word then. First, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, for his strong support. Honey pot is a very descriptive and apt term for it. I thank the Minister for her comments and will definitely take up her offer of a meeting. I...

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the assertion made by the then Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, in a June 2025 interview on Newsnight that there had been a cover-up concerning British veterans involved in nuclear weapons testing.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the assertion made by the then Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, in a June 2025 interview on Newsnight that there had been a cover-up concerning British veterans involved in nuclear weapons testing.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the assertion of former Veterans' Minister, Tobias Ellwood, that the Ministry of Defence deliberately withheld medical records of veterans who oversaw nuclear tests.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the assertion of former Veterans' Minister, Tobias Ellwood, that the Ministry of Defence deliberately withheld medical records of veterans who oversaw nuclear tests.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the treatment of nuclear test veterans in the United States and France; and what lessons they have learned from comparisons with those countries’ approaches to the provision of compensation for veterans affected by nuclear testing and their descendants.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the treatment of nuclear test veterans in the United States and France; and what lessons they have learned from comparisons with those countries’ approaches to the provision of compensation for veterans affected by nuclear testing and their descendants.