Labour

Tom Watson, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, commenting on News Group’s admission of computer hacking, said:

 “This is a dramatic new revelation in the saga of criminality in Murdoch’s media empire. Despite being asked about the use of private detectives by the News of the World at a parliamentary committee in 2011 it’s taken a five year civil case for the company to admit to further illegal behaviour. 

 “We can now add computer hacking to the long list of criminal activities undertaken by Murdoch’s operatives. We know from experience of phone hacking that there won’t just be a single victim. So my question to Rupert Murdoch and his subordinates is this: Who else was hacked? 

 “The Met police are in possession of seized hard drives. What steps have they taken to establish whether there are other people who don’t yet know their personal information has been hacked? I will be writing to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick to ask that she ensures all leads are followed up and any victims fully informed. 

 “This is yet more evidence that Part Two of the Leveson Inquiry must go ahead to discover the full truth of illegality and cover-ups like this. And it’s vital that the CMA is able to take this new evidence of criminality and corporate failure into account as it assesses the Murdochs’ bid to take over Sky.”

Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commenting on falling productivity in the UK, said:

“Our capacity to raise long run living standards seems to be going backwards.

“Productivity growth has been the basis of rises in living standards over the last two hundred years. Yet for each hour of work we put in today, we get less out than we did ten years ago. Further, productivity was 15.1 per cent below the average for the rest of the G7 in 2016.

“This country needs a radical and transformative industrial strategy. The only party that can deliver this is Labour.”

Sue Hayman MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, commenting on the proposed ban on ivory sales, said: 

“A total ban on trading ivory is long overdue.

“Finally, Environment Secretary Michael Gove has followed Labour’s lead on this issue. 

“But, given the Conservative Party’s failure to include this policy in their manifesto and their notoriously poor record on animal welfare, it will be crucial to scrutinise any exemptions to the trade ban being proposed and to ensure these proposals are comprehensive and followed through.”

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to Theresa May’s speech today at Conservative Party conference, said:

“By the time the current leader of the Conservative Party eventually finished speaking, she had a total of £15 billion in spending commitments just in this Parliament without a single reference to how the money will be found to pay for them. The Tory magical money tree returns.”

Anneliese Dodds MP, Labour’s Shadow Treasury Minister, responding to the European Commission’s proposals for reform of the EU VAT system, said:

“Over €50bn of VAT is lost every year through VAT fraud across Europe and the announcement from the European Commission is a welcome step forward to make sure Britain receives the tax it is due from trading across the continent. The reforms will also make it cheaper and easier than ever for British firms to trade around Europe by using a one stop shop so that each company will not need to comply with 28 different VAT regimes.

“The UK Government must support these reforms in the European Council and ensure that British businesses can continue to benefit from them after we leave the EU. We need more clarity from the Tories on how they intend to maintain the ease of access to the European market that we have now, while keeping compliance costs low. “