Publishing Russia report top of the list for intelligence committee
It is a concern that the governments apparent choice for chair of the intelligence and securities committee is none other than Chris Grayling, referred to as a man appears to 'fail upwards'.
Best known as an error-prone minister who has presided over many disasters; the collapse of Northern and Thameslink rail services, the granting of a no-deal Brexit ferry contract to a company with no ships.As justice secretary, he part-privatised the probation service and banned prisoners from receiving books from relatives, a measure that was overturned in the courts. The probation service privatisation has since been criticised in a series of damning reports by parliamentary committees and watchdogs who found the restructure put public safety at risk and was "irredeemably flawed".
Hardly a suitable candidate to be in charge of the UK's security. If MPs approve the list, questions could be asked about the committee's independence and ability to scrutinise government decisions.
The ISC oversees the UK's intelligence community, but it has not met for well over six months - the longest hiatus since it was established in 1994.Eight months after it was completed, the report into alleged Russian interference in the UK remains unpublished.
Responding to confirmation that the House of Commons will be asked to approve membership of the intelligence and security committee on Monday, Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse said:
"With the threat of coronavirus, people are rightly worried and need a Government they can trust. Boris Johnson has failed to do that with his conspicuous delay to reconvening the intelligence committee.
"After months of pressure from Liberal Democrats and others, I am glad the committee is due to be restored. However, it should never have needed this fight. The Prime Minister has a lot to do to claw back public confidence.
"At the top of the list for the intelligence committee must be forcing the Government to publish the report into Russian interference of our democracy, and before the summer recess so MPs can scrutinise it.
"A failure to do so would damage the UK's standing in the world and continue to raise further questions about the Conservative Party's deep connections to Russian oligarchs."
If the report is finally to be published, said Ellen Nicholson, SWWilts Lib Dems spokesperson,it will be interesting to see the reactions of the former ICS chair, Dominic Grieve and the committee to know if it is the full unredacted report ....
