Lord Mitchell is a life Baron. He is a graduate of London University and holds an MBA from Graduate School of Business, Columbia University New York. He was until recently Chairman of Syscap plc, an IT finance, leasing, rental and asset management service provider. He has worked in developing relationships between government and the IT industry. He is a member of the All Party Internet Group. Member of EURIM. In the past he has acted as Labour's information technology adviser.

Issues

E-Voting

House of Lords debates Lord Mitchell 30 May 2002

Whether the results of the postal ballot experiment in the recent local government elections will encourage them to promote the use of online voting in all elections.

...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply. Voter turnout in all elections, particularly among the under-35s, is still depressingly low, even though the use of postal voting in the recent local elections was a qualified success. Does the Minister agree that online voting using the telephone, the Internet and interactive television offers an attractive and convenient alternative—I stress that it is an alternative, not a substitute—to the local polling station and that its adoption will encourage many more people to come out and vote?

e-Learning

Lord Parry Mitchell has been appointed the new Chair of the e-Learning Foundation charity, which he originally helped to set up.

"I have been involved with the e-Learning Foundation since it was set up back in 2000 and I am delighted to have been appointed Chair of the charity,” commented Lord Mitchell. “Our objective is to ensure that every child in this country has access to a computer at home for their studies. Access to ICT for young people in education should be a right, not a privilege and the Foundation is determined that every child in this country has the same opportunity to succeed in their studies".

Spam

6 May 2003 Lord Mitchell: asked Her Majesty's Government: What are their plans to reduce the growth in spam (unsolicited e-mails).

6 May 2003 Lord Mitchell

Unsolicited e-mails, known as "spam", now account for half of all e-mails in this country. In the United States, they account for 70 per cent. Spam, whether it is nuisance advertising or hardcore p0rnography is literally choking the Internet. Will the Minister expand on his Answer? Do the Government intend to follow the example of the United States Senate in introducing legislation specifically prohibiting unsolicited e-mails?

Internet Security

Was a member of the Lords Science and Technology Committee to investigate personal internet security

Wireless

15 February 2001 Lord Mitchell Parliamentary Answers: Electronic System

My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister agree that the very relevant Question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, has even wider implications? The technology now exists in your Lordships' House to install a broadband wireless connectivity that would permit noble Lords to have access to the Internet from any location in the House without the requirement for wires or cables. Does the Minister agree that that would make life much easier for many noble Lords and would help your Lordships' House to establish itself in the forefront of the information age?

Links

Lord Mitchell TheyWorkForYou.com
Voting Record

News

2007-01-17 - THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - PERSONAL INTERNET SECURITY

2006-10-27 - eGov Monitor - Lord Mitchell takes up Chair of e-Learning Foundation: Summary: Lord Parry Mitchell has been appointed the new Chair of the e-Learning Foundation charity, which he originally helped to set up.

2006-02-26 - BBC - Tories demand computer inquiry: Summary: The Conservatives are demanding an inquiry into suggestions that IBM won a £10m Whitehall computer contract after giving the Labour party a big discount on a new computer system for its London headquarters. The row blew up after a leaked e-mail from Lord Mitchell, Labour's information technology adviser, revealed the party paid "next to nothing" for a system installed by Lotus, an IBM subsidiary, at its Millbank headquarters in London before the 1997 election.

2003-05-06 - BBC - Government to crack down on spam: Summary: New rules to curb unwanted and unsolicited e-mail should be in force by the end of October, according to a junior industry minister. ... Labour's Lord Mitchell said such nuisance advertising and sometimes p0rnography was "literally choking the internet".