B

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 2 June 2026

Debate

Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response

Contribution

I thank my noble friend and would like to reassure him that I have read every page of the humble Address. I apparently do not need to sleep any more. The point that he made about WhatsApp and disappearing messages is absolutely right. The guidance issued to every Minister is clear: “‘Disappearing message’ functions have a role in limiting the build up of messages on devices. You must ensure that any such use does not impact on your recordkeeping or transparency responsibilities”. Anyone who had deleted messages was not breaking the rules. The issue is in making sure that all record-keeping of decisions and how they were made is kept in government, which is why we are reminding every government department of its responsibilities in this space.

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