Peter Mandelson was introduced into the House on Monday and made his maiden speech today. He moved the Enterprise Act 2002 (Specification of Additional Section 58 Consideration) Order 2008, which may sound dull and technical but which was actually extremely important. It provides the opportunity for the minister to intervene in the TSB/HBOS merger talks…
The Government has announced that it will support amendments to the Counter-Terrorism Bill to remove the provision empowering ministers to order inquests to be held in secret on grounds of national security. The provision for inquests to be held in secret had attracted widespread opposition and has been touched upon by some readers in responding to an…
I spoke in a debate this evening when a colleague, Lord Trefgarne, moved a motion to annul the European Parliament (House of Lords Disqualification) Regulations 2008. The regulations arise from the fact that there is now a ban on the dual mandate for MEPs: anyone elected as an MEP cannot also sit as a member…
There has been another loss of personal data, this time by the Ministry of Defence’s main IT contractor. Acording to media reports, the removable hard drive may contain unencrypted data on bank accounts, driving licences, passport numbers, dates of birth, addresses, and telephone numbers. In short, more than enough material for identity theft. The need to enhance…
When Peter Mandelson joins the Lords, he will be one of only two Cabinet ministers to have a former Cabinet minister as his opposite number. Lord Hunt of Wirral has just been appointed Shadow Minister for Business, Enterprise and Regulation. As David Hunt, Lord Hunt was a Cabinet minister from 1990 to 1995, serving as…
