Voting against the Government is no small matter and when I did so at the start of the year it was over an issue that I felt was of vital importance and something that needed to be revisited by the Government and the security services.
Five months on, I am very pleased the Government has decided to listen to the grave concern from across the House, around the use of Huawei in building our 5G network. The Government has rightly decided to phase out Huawei from all 5G technology by 2027, which in reality is likely to happen a great deal sooner.
I took the opportunity to thank Secretary of State, Oliver Dowden MP, [watch above or click here] for changing course, but also to highlight that a Global Britain should not be working alongside businesses that are using slave labour.
There is further action to take, and I will be working with others to amend the Modern Slavery Bill to restrict engagement with companies that use slavery. In the meantime, the UK, with its international colleagues must be prepared to ensure the international rules-based order is protected against the likes of China and stand up for the rights of Hong Kong citizens.