Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath) (Lab)

I thank noble Lords for their amendments. Obviously, we miss the noble Lord, Lord Alton, who spoke to me this morning to emphasise his regret at not being able to be here. I think many noble Lords know the important reason why he cannot be, which he was keen to stress. I thank all the noble Lords who spoke on this important amendment, which seeks to restrict overseas information sharing where there could be a risk to an individual’s right to a fair trial. I am sympathetic to noble Lords’ concerns. We must be rigorous in protecting fundamental liberties and the rule of law, both nationally and internationally. I understand that DCMS officials—there is a double D in DCMS; the first D is silent, so I hope that noble Lords been advised accordingly—have been working with teams across government to consider these concerns carefully. From this, I am confident that the risks identified by noble Lords are very low. The information-sharing powers are discretionary. Regulators are under no obligation to share information overseas under the Bill. We work closely with all regulators and know that they are extremely cautious, sharing information internationally only when it is necessary to do so and after considering whether disclosing that information is in line with their public duties, including those under the Human Rights Act. I have listened carefully to the noble Lord, Lord Markham, my noble friend Lord Hunt and the noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, who all have their particular areas of interest and expertise. I will turn to a couple of those points in a minute. In addition, the Bill adds further explicit safeguards that information must be disclosed only if it is relevant and proportionate. This requires regulators to exercise judgment and limit information only to that which is necessary for the purposes of the sharing. Requiring the Secretary of State to convene panels of experts in order to judge every instance of information sharing internationally would add a significant layer of bureaucracy. Given the very low risk and the safeguards already in place, that would be disproportionate and would slow or even halt legitimate essential international regulatory co-operation. International collaboration has long been central to the NIS framework, with information-sharing essential to ensuring that tackling cyber threats is a global effort. The Bill ensures that our regime reflects the UK’s post-Brexit position by enabling effective co-operation with trusted international partners including close allies such as the US and Australia. On the Hong Kong point raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, there is no uncertainty regarding UK-Hong Kong extradition. The UK suspended the treaty in 2020 and passed legislation to reflect the suspension in UK domestic law in 2025, completing the severing of ties between the Hong Kong and UK extradition systems. I hope that that addresses that point.