Baroness Kidron (CB)

My Lords, I thank all who have spoken for their excellent contributions. I will make three quick points. First, in the course of the afternoon, I opened the Explanatory Notes, which is always a bit of a danger. I just want to put on the record that paragraph 2 states: “These reforms are intended to better protect the services and other activities that are essential to the day-to-day functioning of society in the UK, and the economy, through safeguarding relevant network and information systems (the systems that allow computers and other devices to communicate with each other) and their surrounding environment”. I do not think that the Bill, as it stands, does that job, and the last two groups have absolutely illustrated that. The second thing that I would like to say to the Minister, and I absolutely recognise all the things that she mentioned, is that I did find myself counting, and it was 11. We do not have a strategy. It is 11, but it does not cover the scope of what we are discussing; it does not even cover the scope of security. The third thing, which I am slightly loath to say but will now say, because otherwise we will get nowhere, is that I have been in the room with Ministers when they have indicated directly that they cannot do something because of America’s desire—absolutely categorically, yeah? That is the bit that we did not get from the Minister. Sovereignty is about being able to impose and choose our laws, and to decide what we can and cannot do and what we are willing to risk and give up for it. I am not saying that it is easy, but I think everybody in the Committee has been completely reasonable in saying that we are not trying to replace the stack; we are trying to talk about chokeholds and we are trying to be strategic. What we are really trying to do is make the country safe and secure and, dare I say, make it respond to its own laws. I do not think that anything that the Minister said has dealt with that fact. It was not asking for much to actually have a think about what strategy is and have a look at how we might get to a better place. Let us have a vision of where we want to go and work out how to get there. Individual things and departments and leaving things out is not the answer. This is an easy amendment for the Government to say yes to and I hope that, by Report, they will. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.