To begin my first column of 2026, I would like to wish you all very happy new year. I hope 2026 is a year of much health and happiness for you, your families and loved ones. 

It has been a busy start to the year. As many of you know, I Chair the Joint Committee (both MPs and members of the House of Lords) on the National Security Strategy. We have been doing a lot of work on subsea cables and the huge importance of protecting them - these cables carry a staggering 99 percent of the UK's telecommunications and international data and lie on the sea floor. They are our commercial and social lifelines.  

However, they have become a new front in a hybrid war with some state powers and their proxies targeting this critical underwater infrastructure which can be cut by something as basic as an anchor dragged along the seabed. 

The Committee have produced a report on this issue which I presented to Parliament last week. If you would like to read more about this, please do drop me an email and I can send you my speech from the Chamber.  

Another key issue we have been working on in the Committee is that of foreign interference in our democracy and how we can best safeguard against it. We saw last year the conviction of Nathan Gill who had been taking bribes from Russia to push a pro-Kremlin narrative, a deeply concerning case. 

 We were told by Susan Hawley, the Executive Director of Spotlight on Corruption, at a meeting that in 2024 there had been "foreign interference in 21 elections across Europe". While back in 2022 the US estimated Russia had spent $300m on political influence in 24 countries. We must be awake to these very real threats and work hard to protect our democracy. I will continue to work closely on this issue to our democracy is free from foreign interference.

Moving to international affairs, which have dominated much of the news in recent weeks. In Gaza, we see aid not getting to those who desperately need it. In Venezuela, we saw significant action from President Trump which we should take seriously, particularly in light of the US National Security Strategy. I asked questions on both these topics in the Chamber last week which are on my social media if you would like to watch them. 

Finally, at the time of writing, I, like many of you will be, am watching the scenes in Iran where thousands of people have taken to the streets in opposition to their government. The protests are incredibly widespread with them confirmed in all 31 of Iran's provinces. The bravery being shown by the Iranian people is a sight to behold, particularly in the face of such violence and cruelty by the regime. It is estimated thousands could have been killed. The Iranian regime must allow the Iranian people to exercise their right to peaceful protest. 

As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any issues or concerns you would like to raise with me. I can be reached at [email protected] or on 01926 882006.