House of Lords drops live broadcast of virtual proceedings after data breach

As a consequence, the House of Lords said its sitting on Wednesday will not be broadcast live.

Today’s virtual sitting will not be broadcast live.

This is due to technical and data compliance issues encountered during yesterday’s sitting. The House of Lords is working hard and at speed to resolve these issues in order to restore live broadcast for tomorrow.

— House of Lords (@UKHouseofLords) April 29, 2020

Ministers are to be quizzed about several issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic, including rail services, tax and garden centres.

One Lords source told the PA news agency: “This seems a bit of an overreaction.”

Several parts of Lords business have been conducted virtually since peers returned from the Easter recess.

Last week saw journalists watch live from a room on the parliamentary estate, with the public unable to follow proceedings as they took place.

The proceedings were broadcast to all on Parliament’s website on Tuesday this week, but this was stopped on Wednesday.

A Hansard transcript will be made available as soon as possible after the virtual business concludes and an audio recording will also be published.

Today's business is listed on our calendar here: https://t.co/m2pG2C6CfE

— House of Lords (@UKHouseofLords) April 29, 2020

It is unclear what arrangements will be in place for the rest of the day to allow journalists to view proceedings from a room on the parliamentary estate, although a Lords spokesman has said audio recordings will be available.

Hansard will also publish a report of proceedings, which usually emerges three hours after they have taken place.

Officials hope to rectify the issue ahead of Thursday’s sitting.