House of Commons
Parliament

Shortly, the House of Commons will begin its day. At 11:30am there are questions for the Foreign Office. This will be followed by three ministerial statements:

• A rail announcement by the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling
• An update on Northamptonshire County Council by Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid
• An update on the proposed GKN/Melrose takeover by Business Secretary Greg Clark

Next, there will be an emergency debate on funding for the Vote Leave campaign. Later the Commons will debate the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill, which has made its way to the green benches following consideration in the Lords.

Highlights of the bill include provisions on pensions advice and stamping out cold-calling scams on pensioners.

Select Committee
Parliament

Labour MP Paul Farrelly asks about Canadian data firm Aggregate IQ (AIQ), the firm which reportedly received money from the Vote Leave campaign during the EU referendum.

Mr Wylie says the company worked on elections in Nigeria in 2015, when it used the services of an Israeli private intelligence firm called Black Cube.

He says Black Cube was engaged to try to get hold of the medical records and private emails of Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr Wylie says AIQ were handed material from Cambridge Analytica to distribute online - including compromising material and "incredibly threatening" video content.

AIQ distributed the videos - including of people being dismembered - "with the sole intent of intimidating voters", he tells MPs.

Image source, HoC

Christopher Wylie tells MPs that suspended Cambridge Analytica chief Alexander Nix became involved in the company when he inherited shares in the firm.

He had "no background" in psychology or technology, he says.

"He's a salesman and he likes to sell stuff," he adds.

Select Committee
Parliament

Mr Wylie is asked about what happened to his predecessor at Cambridge Analytica.

He tells MPs that, a few months into his job, he was told that his predecessor - a man in his thirties - "died in a hotel room in Kenya".

He adds: "It's pure speculation. I am not stating that as a matter of fact."

He says he heard that the individual was working on "some kind of deal" that "went sour".

"People suspected that he was poisoned in his hotel room," Mr Wylie says but stressied: "I cannot speak to the veracity of that account".

Select Committee
Parliament

Labour MP Paul Farrelly asks whether Mr Wylie's main concern was with the use of military-inspired 'psy ops' in politics.

Mr Wylie replies that was "part of it", but he had broader concerns about Cambridge Analytica.

The firm "don't care whether what they do is legal" as long as they "get the job done", he says.

He also criticises the company for running campaigns in struggling democracies, which he calls "an example of what modern-day colonialism looks like".

Select Committee
Parliament

Chris Wylie is asked about Alexander Nix, the now suspended chief executive of Cambridge Analytica.

Mr Wylie says Mr Nix presented a "posh veneer" to the company, adding that "that sort of image plays well with certain types of client".

Steve Bannon, once a close associate of Donald Trump, was one of Cambridge Analytica's clients but according to Mr Wylie, Mr Bannon "didn't really care about" the posh image.

He was "much more interested" in going to speak at student events in Cambridge.

Mr Nix realised that, says Mr Wylie, so decided to set up a "fake office" in Cambridge to "present a more academic side of the company" to Mr Bannon.

Questioned on whether it had any connection to Cambridge University, Mr Wylie said there was no formal connection but the firm did work with academics in the psychology department.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Culture committee chair Damian Collins asks Christopher Wylie to tell the committee to describe why he decided to become a whistlblower.

Christopher Wylie says that "as a citizen" he felt he had a "duty to report unlawful activity".

He also tells MPs the recent news coverage is only the culmination of a year-long co-operation with the Guardian.

Damian Collins asks whether he felt Donald Trump's 2016 campaign "crossed a line" for him.

Mr Wylie replies that it was not just about the election of Donald Trump, but he came to feel that campaigns using "military-style" operations were not conducive to democracy.

Select Committee
Parliament

The committee chair Damian Collins starts the session by talking about Mark Zuckerberg's response to the committee's invitation to give evidence.

Mr Zuckerberg declined the invitation and suggested sending chief product officer, Chris Cox instead.

But Mr Collins says that "given the serious nature" of the allegations about accessing data, it is "appropriate" that Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook chief executive "should give evidence to the committee".

Mr Collins says the committee would be "very happy" to invite Mr Cox "but we would like to hear from Mr Zuckerberg as well".

He adds that if Mr Zuckerberg is available the committee would be "happy" to hear from him in person or via video-link.

Image source, Getty Images

Facebook, which is at the centre of a dispute over harvesting personal data, will send a senior boss.

Image source, PA

Business in the Commons begins at 11.30am, but first up this morning we’re turning our attention to the culture committee, which is continuing its inquiry into ‘fake news’.

This morning the committee will be taking evidence from Christopher Wylie, a former employee of London-based political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

Mr Wylie has accused Cambridge Analytica of amassing data from millions of Facebook users without their explicit consent through a personality quiz developed by an academic.

According to Mr Wylie, the information was then used to psychologically profile people and deliver pro-Trump material to them.

Cambridge Analytica has denied any of it was used as part of the services it provided to the Trump campaign.

MPs will also hear from data protection specialist Paul-Olivier Dehaye.

With the US and some European countries expelling Russian diplomats today, Russia was the main talking point in the Commons.

In her wide-ranging statement to MPs on last week's meeting with EU leaders, Theresa May said she had argued for a collective effort to send a strong message to Russia following the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

Opening her speech during the Russia debate later on, she said Russia had offered "21 different arguments" as to why it was not responsible for the attack on the Skripals and she accused Russian leaders of using disinformation to "sow discord" in the West.

There was strong interest in the reaction of the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn to Mrs May's comments.

He welcomed the international consensus on Russia and, during the debate, called the attack on the Skripals "an outrageous act", saying: "Russia has a direct or indirect responsibility for this."

His position secured the support of several Labour MPs who have previously criticised his tone. But one Labour MP John Woodcock took issue with Mr Corbyn when he said he had been a "robust critic" of the Russia government.

Meanwhile, Mrs May had a tricky issue of her own to deal with when a Labour MP Angela Eagle called on her to sack her political secretary Stephen Parkinson. Mr Parkinson is accused of outing a Vote Leav whistleblower Shahmir Sanni as gay.

Mrs May defended Mr Parkinson, insisting he was doing "a very good job".

House of Lords
Parliament

Brexit Minister Lord Callanan tells peers that when it comes to delegated powers "where the line is drawn continues to be a matter for debate" but assures them the government will do more work on this aspect of the bill.

He acknowledges there are problems with sub-delegation but insists it "can be an appropriate course of action" and no statutory instruments will be brought in "without a thorough and reasonable explanation".

Shortly after that, the Lords adjourns, and will return at 2.30pm tomorrow.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Conservative Paul Masterton claims that "successive Russian regimes" have sought to suppress Georgia's own independence and attempts to align with Western values.

Thirty-three polling stations were illegally operated in the occupied Georgian territories on 18th March, and Mr Masterton states that many locals have had Russian passports "forced" onto them.

The same has happened in Ukraine since 2014, he adds.

The UK cannot allow this issue to slip down the international agenda, he argues, and must stand up to Putin and "Russian expansionism".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

The SNP's Stephen Gethins says that the High North Strategy is something which should be more important to the UK government.

The High North Strategy being pursued by Norway is important to many in Europe, he argues, as it would prevent Russia from trying to take too much land in the Arctic.

He goes on to say that the security of the Western Balkans continues to be important, and the rebuilding of Bosnia has taken 25 years, and adds in the case of Libya, if the UK "takes our eye off the ball" then "no amount" of nuclear weapons will be able to protect the UK.

"Europe has been important for our security" and will continue to be so, he states.

The UK must look at the finances of Russian oligarchs living in the UK, he urges, claiming there would be cross-party support for looking into funding of such individuals.

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Crossbencher Lord Lisvane speaks to an amendment which would see Clause 12 dropped from the bill.

Clause 12 allows ministers to incur expenditure in preparation for the making of statutory instruments under this bill.

"We're seeing power after power delegated to ministers, and this one should not be," he says.

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Brexit Minister Lord Callanan says he can't accept the amendment from Lord Jay because it would render some parts of the bill "inoperable".

He tells peers the government is "confident we can reach a positive agreement".

Baroness Hayter and crossbencher Lord Hannay of Chiswick both intervene to ask if the amendment could be tweaked in a way which would make it acceptable, but the minister says he can't promise that.

"It would open the way to a never-ending negotiation process," he warns.

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour backs the amendment, with shadow frontbencher Baroness Hayter saying that leaving the EU without a deal would bring about "a jolt to our economy which would make 2008 look like a kiddies' party".

She argues the decision to leave with no deal should be taken by Parliament, not the prime minister.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour's John Woodcock says that everyone in the Commons is following intensely the investigation of Nikolai Glushkov's death, who died eight days after the poisoning of Sergei Skripal.

Mr Woodcock says that there is a need for Magnitsky Act in the UK, and that "of course" the UK defence budget now needs to rise above 2% of GDP.

He says that the UK has to accelerate the future capability funding for the armed forces in the UK, which so far has only seen "drips" of increases in funds.

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Peers begin day two of ten days of committee-stage debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill, external, which repeals the European Communities Act 1972 and writes EU law into UK law ahead of Brexit.

Committee stage is when peers carry out detailed line-by-line scrutiny of legislation, but amendments are not normally forced to a vote – this happens at report stage.

Crossbencher and former permanent secretary in the Foreign Office Lord Jay of Ewelme introduces an amendment which would mean that in the event of no deal, the UK's position should be considered by Parliament before any final decision is taken.

He says the focus has mainly been on the impact on trade, but not reaching a deal would have serious implications for the national interest and national security.