Background & Chris's Interactions Regarding The Rapid Response Unit
- 16th March 2023 - INTERACTION in the HOUSE OF COMMONS
Christopher Chope Conservative, Christchurch
When the rapid response unit was disbanded and what happened to the information it collected.
Alex Burghart The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office
The rapid response unit was created in 2018 and disbanded in August 2022. It was formed as a central resource in the Government Communication Service that used publicly available information to improve Government’s ability to identify where certain narratives about our work were gaining traction online and to understand public sentiment about Government policies. On disbandment, the information collected was archived and it will be retained in line with the Cabinet Office information retention policy, which is available online.
Christopher Chope Conservative, Christchurch
But why has my hon. Friend refused to admit in answer to parliamentary questions that the rapid response unit collected and stored information on sitting MPs? As my subject access request has confirmed that I was one of those MPs, can he explain why the unit was using taxpayers’ money to snoop on me, who authorised this and why?
Alex Burghart The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office
My hon. Friend is welcome to come and have a meeting with me and officials in the Cabinet Office to discuss any concerns that he has about the rapid response unit. I have asked them this morning whether there were any monitoring emails that contained his name. I have been given assurances that there were not, but I am very happy for him to come to the Department and talk through all the possible implications. The truth is that the Government have a number of media monitoring services that check what is going on. They monitor not just what MPs and peers say, but what journalists say and anything that is reported in the mainstream media. As my hon. Friend’s name has appeared in newspaper articles in connection with various stories, it is natural that it would be picked up by those monitoring services.
Lindsay Hoyle Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Chair, House of Commons Commission, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Chair, Speaker's Conference Committee, Chair, Speaker's Conference Committee, Chair, Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee, Chair, Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee
I do have concerns about what has been mentioned. If there are dossiers on MPs, we need to know. If someone put in for an urgent question to get to the bottom of this, I would be very tempted, because I do think it needs clarification. A Government Department holding records on MPs may be fine, but it may not be, so I do have great worries.
Alex Burghart The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office
As I said, Mr Speaker, we have media monitoring units so that when people’s names appear in the media, be they MPs, peers or people who are not Members of either House, they will be recorded on those systems. There is nothing untoward about this, I can assure you.
Lindsay Hoyle Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Chair, House of Commons Commission, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Chair, Speaker's Conference Committee, Chair, Speaker's Conference Committee, Chair, Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee, Chair, Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee
Well, we will certainly find out at some point.
- 9th of March 2023 - WRITTEN QUESTION & ANSWER
Christopher Chope Conservative, Christchurch
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the Cabinet Office Rapid Response Unit (a) collected and (b) stored personal data on the content of each of the interviews given by the hon Member for Christchurch on (a) 3 November 2020 with LBC, (b) 4 February 2021 with Newsnight, (c) 28 June 2021 with Times Radio, (d) 13 September 2021 with the BBC, (e) 1 December 2021 with The Daily Telegraph and (f) 6 December 2021 with Talk Radio.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy Labour, Streatham
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment her Department has made of the findings in the recent report published by Big Brother Watch titled Ministry of Truth: The Secretive Government Units Spying On Your Speech.
Alex Burghart The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office
I refer the Hon. member to the answers given to PQs 148800, 148801, 148802 on 28 February 2023.
The Rapid Response Unit was used to understand the spread of information and potential disinformation, and help inform how the Government communicates effectively with the public.
Online disinformation is a serious threat to the UK, which is why we brought together expertise from across government to monitor disinformation, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. These units used publicly available data, including material shared on social media platforms, to assess UK disinformation trends and narratives. They have since been disbanded and the learning and expertise is now being replicated across the wider Government Communications Service.
- 6th March 2023 - WRITTEN QUESTION & ANSWER
Christopher Chope Conservative, Christchurch
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he publish the following documents referencing the hon. Member for Christchurch: (a) Covid Comms: Afternoon Note - 25th September, (b) Fwd: Checking receipt - Priorities for tackling fake news and improving media literacy - Morning, Tuesday 8th February 2022, (c) Covid: Morning Update - Wednesday 1 December 2021 and (d) Re: No10 Xmas party - RRU analysis; for what reason those documents were created; and if he will place a copy of them in the Library.
Alex Burghart The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office officials are working to collate the necessary information to answer this question. I will write to the hon. Member shortly, and a copy of this letter will be deposited in the House Libraries.
Please note that any release of documentation will be subject to classification.
- ENDS -
