To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the merger of Vodafone and Three on the rollout of 5G services in (a) Devon and (b) Newton Abbot constituency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the merger of Vodafone and Three on the rollout of 5G services in (a) Devon and (b) Newton Abbot constituency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on the potential impact of the merger of Vodafone and Three on the rollout of 5G.

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on the potential impact of the merger of Vodafone and Three on the rollout of 5G.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Competition and Market Authority investigation into the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three Mobile.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Competition and Market Authority investigation into the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three Mobile.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority into the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three Mobile.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority into the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three Mobile.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the links between the Li family and the Chinese state on the proposed merger of Three Mobile with Vodafone.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the links between the Li family and the Chinese state on the proposed merger of Three Mobile with Vodafone.

Motion that this House has considered the potential merger of Three and Vodafone. Agreed to on question.

Motion that this House has considered the potential merger of Three and Vodafone. Agreed to on question.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the potential merger of Three and Vodafone.

I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for making time for this debate on what will be one of the largest mergers we see in this country this year. The merger has profound implications for...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the potential merger of Three and Vodafone.

I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for making time for this debate on what will be one of the largest mergers we see in this country this year. The merger has profound implications for...

And the police.

And the police.

Along with the police. To cap it all, we now have a Minister warning that our investment security regime is out of date with the threats as we now understand them.

Along with the police. To cap it all, we now have a Minister warning that our investment security regime is out of date with the threats as we now understand them.

I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for bringing this debate before the House. I am here primarily to listen, rather than contribute, but it is overwhelmingly clear that the relatively new Investment Security Unit is tailor-made to consider a merger proposal such as this one.

However, does the...

I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for bringing this debate before the House. I am here primarily to listen, rather than contribute, but it is overwhelmingly clear that the relatively new Investment Security Unit is tailor-made to consider a merger proposal such as this one.

However, does the...

I am very grateful to the Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee for that intervention. As the Chair of the National Security and Investment Sub-Committee, I have to warn the House that I do not believe we have access to the information that would allow us to scrutinise Government...

I am very grateful to the Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee for that intervention. As the Chair of the National Security and Investment Sub-Committee, I have to warn the House that I do not believe we have access to the information that would allow us to scrutinise Government...

It is a pleasure to be called in this debate. How pleased I am to follow the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Liam Byrne). I offer my belated congratulations on his appointment to the Business and Trade Committee and endorse his comments on the security nature of the...

It is a pleasure to be called in this debate. How pleased I am to follow the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Liam Byrne). I offer my belated congratulations on his appointment to the Business and Trade Committee and endorse his comments on the security nature of the...

I am listening to the hon. Gentleman’s contribution with great interest. He made a point earlier about misleading information. The House has been told that the primary function of this merger is to increase investment in infrastructure in the UK. Does he agree that the primary function of this merger...

I am listening to the hon. Gentleman’s contribution with great interest. He made a point earlier about misleading information. The House has been told that the primary function of this merger is to increase investment in infrastructure in the UK. Does he agree that the primary function of this merger...

I thank the hon. Member for his kind intervention. He almost takes the words out of my mouth, as I go on to the next part of my speech.

The case that is being put, as I understand it from the brief received from both Vodafone and Three, is that the...

I thank the hon. Member for his kind intervention. He almost takes the words out of my mouth, as I go on to the next part of my speech.

The case that is being put, as I understand it from the brief received from both Vodafone and Three, is that the...

The hon. Member and I are neighbours, and I congratulate him on talking about the rural character of his constituency and how the merger might affect his constituents as customers. I also suggest that it would affect his and all our constituents as citizens because, should the merger take place,...

The hon. Member and I are neighbours, and I congratulate him on talking about the rural character of his constituency and how the merger might affect his constituents as customers. I also suggest that it would affect his and all our constituents as citizens because, should the merger take place,...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind intervention. The right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill made a lot of those points, along with my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), and I agreed with them earlier in my speech. This area needs...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind intervention. The right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill made a lot of those points, along with my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), and I agreed with them earlier in my speech. This area needs...

On that point, I recall that in 2021, while the National Security and Investment Bill was going through the House, the Government repeatedly said from the Dispatch Box that in any conflict between economic interest and national security their policy was

that national security would come first. That was the...

On that point, I recall that in 2021, while the National Security and Investment Bill was going through the House, the Government repeatedly said from the Dispatch Box that in any conflict between economic interest and national security their policy was

that national security would come first. That was the...

I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention. He makes a very valid point. I recall the debates we had in the House several years ago and I think they were very meaningful. I hope that my right hon. Friend the Minister will respond to some of the genuine...

I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention. He makes a very valid point. I recall the debates we had in the House several years ago and I think they were very meaningful. I hope that my right hon. Friend the Minister will respond to some of the genuine...