The politics blog is closing now. Here’s a summary of the day’s key developments regarding the arrest of the Chinese parliamentary researcher:
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has said he told the Chinese prime minister, Li Qiang, that actions to undermine British democracy are “completely unacceptable” and will never be tolerated”. He added that the sanctity of parliament must be protected: “We will defend our democracy and our security.”
Liz Truss, the former prime minister, said that China is the “largest threat, both to the world and to the United Kingdom, for freedom and democracy”.
Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, said there is a “strong case” for treating China as a ‘state of concern’ under the new National Security Act.
Labour leader Keir Starmer asked Sunak to say if he complained to China about the latest spying case before this weekend. Sunak replied that there is a limit to what he can say because of the ongoing police investigation. But he added he has been clear with the Chinese that interference in democracy is unacceptable, such as the activity alleged to have taken place, and that James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, raised these issues on his recent visit.
In other news:
The presence of crumbling concrete has been confirmed in parliament. There is no “immediate risk”, according to structural engineers, and mitigations will be put in place where necessary, a parliamentary spokesperson told reporters.
Lord Agnew, who as academies minister 2017-20 was also responsible for school capital spending, told GB News he had about 10 meetings with the Treasury to try to secure a long-term funding envelope to deal with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) but was turned down.
Sunak was accused of making MPs feel “very depressed” after he sidestepped pleas to publicly call for the release of Briton Jagtar Singh Johal earlier.
Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, has claimed that no one has produced a viable alternative to the government’s much-criticised Troubles legacy bill. The bill, which is set to finish its passage through parliament imminently, would offer limited immunity for some perpetrators of crimes committed during the Northern Ireland Troubles and is opposed by all parties in Northern Ireland and by the Irish government, which is thinking of challenging it at the European court of human rights. Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach (Irish PM), said there was still time for the government to pause the bill.
Unions at the TUC in Liverpool passed a motion calling for “a strategy of non-compliance and non-cooperation” with the Strikes Act, the new legislation imposing minimum service levels in key public services during strikes.
That it’s from the Politics blog for now. Thanks for following along with me, Donna Ferguson.
Neil Coyle, a Labour member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has said that staff working for him and other MPs involved in sensitive subjects should receive extra vetting.
He told the BBC:
Parliament should automatically and routinely check staff working for MPs on sensitive issues including foreign affairs and defence. Enhanced checks would be welcome to almost all MPs and help reduce some risks.
Given the level of exposure this should be routine and cannot be overlooked any longer given the resources other states now invest targeting Westminster.”
A spokesperson for the House of Commons said:
Our vetting is line with government policy, and follows the national security vetting policy that is set by government. We do not and will not comment on specific cases.”
Peers in the House of Lords could reduce their eco footprint and buy fewer new clothes if parliament was prepared to tackle its moth problem, a Conservative lord has said.
During a debate about the environmental impact of textiles manufacture and the benefits of “slow fashion”, the Tory former cabinet minister Lord Forsyth of Drumlean called on the House of Lords to do “something about the moths”.
The comment came after Conservative peer Lady Jenkin urged other Lords to participate in this month’s Second Hand September initiative, revealing her own commitment to the cause.
She said:
Speaking as somebody who made a vow 12 years ago to never buy anything new for the rest of my life, might I encourage the minister to join this campaign? EBay, charity shops, Swishing and Vinted are all alternatives to us buying new clothes and creating more of a problem.”
The environment minister Lord Benyon then said:
She is a living example that buying from thrift shops is what we should all be doing. This month in particular, we should be encouraging people to do that. Slow fashion is the way forward.
We need to continue to make sure that we are requiring manufacturers and retailers to make and sell goods that last longer, are properly supplied and do not go to landfill when they come to the end of their natural life.
Recycling is an emerging technology, but the most important thing is that we all stop buying so many new things.”
Lord Forsyth then decided it would be relevant to call for action to be taken with regard to the moths. He said:
Following on from the question from Lady Jenkin, might we all be able to avoid buying new clothes if the authorities in this house did something about the moths?”
There have been longstanding demands at Westminster for the ageing estate to be fumigated to rid it of the pests, which can cause serious damage to clothes, carpets and upholstery.
Earlier, Lord Benyon told the upper chamber that reducing textiles waste would be critical to the UK hitting its net zero goal.
He said:
We propose to ban textiles waste from landfill, require clothing retailers to provide in-store take-back of unwanted textiles and ask businesses to separate textiles waste for reuse and recycling.”
The amount of clothing produced doubled between 2015 and 2020. This was because of a higher number of middle-class people and their demand for clothing, and it has come at a great environmental cost.
The clothing industry may not be the biggest emitter, in terms of carbon and its impact on water, but the government are working internationally and domestically to tackle this very serious problem.”
Updated
Presence of Raac confirmed in parliament
The presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) in parliament has been confirmed.
A parliamentary spokesperson told PA reporters:
As part of routine ongoing investigations Raac was identified in one area of the palace.
Structural engineers have confirmed there is no immediate risk. Where Raac is found, mitigations will be put in place as necessary.”
Updated
Defiant peers have maintained their standoff with the government in pressing their demand for moves to strengthen a crackdown on dirty money, PA reports.
The House of Lords backed by 211 votes to 185, majority 26, steps to ensure more businesses are liable for prosecution for failing to prevent fraud.
The change, proposed by Tory peer and former senior law officer Lord Garnier, would limit an exemption to only the smallest companies, so-called micro-organisations, rather than all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as proposed by the government.
Former Conservative justice minister Lord Faulks also successfully led a defeat of the frontbench, by 218 votes to 186, majority 32, in seeking financial protection for enforcement agencies in chasing down proceeds of crime.
It follows concerns that the threat of high legal bills associated with such cases was having a chilling effect on investigators.
Similar changes backed by peers to the economic crime and corporate transparency bill had already been rejected by MPs.
The latest setbacks for the government mean a continuation of the tussle known as parliamentary ping-pong, where legislation is batted between the unelected chamber and the Commons, until agreement is reached.
The bill is the second part of a package aimed at tackling corruption and money laundering.
Updated
After Oliver Dowden gave his statement on the arrest of the parliamentary researcher accused of spying for China, the veteran MP for Harwich and North Essex, Sir Bernard Jenkin, asked:
Why is the government so squeamish about not just talking about threats from China, but by calling China a threat?
What is the difference between a challenge and a threat?”
Dowden reiterated that the government was “absolutely clear about the threat that China represents”, adding: “But at the same time, it is right that we engage with China and that is the approach that we are taking alongside working very closely with our allies.”
Updated
Rishi Sunak was accused of making MPs feel “very depressed” after he sidestepped pleas to publicly call for the release of Briton Jagtar Singh Johal earlier.
Conservative Alicia Kearns, who chairs the foreign affairs committee, said MPs were unclear about the outcomes of the discussions that Sunak had when he met the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, on the fringes of the G20 summit in New Delhi last weekend.
She said:
Will the government now finally officially call for him to be released because the UN has accepted he is arbitrarily detained and does the prime minister believe that he has been unfairly treated or even tortured while he’s been held?”
Johal, a Sikh blogger from Dumbarton in Scotland, was in Punjab in northern India for his wedding in 2017 when his family said he was arrested and bundled into an unmarked car.
Sunak replied:
We are committed to seeing Mr Johal’s case resolved as soon as possible. We continue to provide consular assistance to him and his family and have raised concerns about issues including consular access to Mr Johal, the judicial process and reports of mistreatment with the Indian government on multiple occasions, including myself with Prime Minister Modi just this weekend.”
Martin Docherty-Hughes, the SNP MP for West Dunbartonshire, then asked Sunak to meet him and Johal’s family so he can tell them exactly what he intends to do on their behalf.
In response, Sunak merely referred Docherty-Hughes to his previous answer and added that the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, had already met Johal’s family. This meeting, with Johal’s brother Gurpreet, took place in January – with Gurpreet later saying he had been disappointed by the discussion. “What we need from the foreign secretary is decisive action; what we got is more empty words,” Gurpeet said at the time.
Following Sunak’s response to Docherty-Hughes’ question, Labour former minister Sir Chris Bryant added:
Surely one of the things that should keep the prime minister awake at night is whenever a British national is arbitrarily detained in a foreign country.
You would hope that ministers, and the prime minister himself, would summon up every ounce of energy to try to get people released.
I’m sorry but I think quite a lot of us are very depressed by the prime minister’s own answer to (Ms Kearns) earlier about Jagtar Singh Johal, who has been arbitrarily detained now for six years.
Everybody knows that he is being tortured and that he is being mistreated.
I took the prime minister to say that he has not called for his release. Is that really the truth?”
Sunak replied:
We’ve consistently raised our concerns about Mr Johal’s case with the government of India, including allegations of mistreatment and the right to a fair trial.
That’s why the Foreign Office and ministers are providing direct support to Mr Johal’s family and why I raised this specific case with Mr Modi.”
Updated
Crispin Blunt, a Conservative MP and former foreign affairs committee chairman, has told the BBC he did not think parliamentary committee members had much access to sensitive information.
He said on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: “It certainly would have been my working assumption that any state intelligence service worth its salt would be able to see almost anything we’re doing.”
Asked if, as a former committee chief, he had any secrets worth seeing, he replied: “No, not so far as I was aware of.”
On the same programme, the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, suggested the debate over whether China represents a “threat” or a “challenge” could be a distraction.
“Frankly, the debate does turn me off a little. We need to focus on the substance of our strategy towards China, not a binary debate about the word,” the Labour MP said.
“Reducing our relationship to one word is very difficult.
“The truth is, all countries engage in spying, but it is very important we take our security and information that can fall into enemy hands as seriously as possible.”
Updated
No one has produce better alternative to much-criticised Troubles legacy bill, says Northern Ireland secretary
Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, has claimed that no one has produced a viable alternative to the government’s much-criticised Troubles legacy bill.
The Northern Ireland Troubles (legacy and reconciliation) bill, which is set to finish its passage through parliament imminently, would offer limited immunity for some perpetrators of crimes committed during the Northern Ireland Troubles. It is opposed by all parties in Northern Ireland and by the Irish government, which is thinking of challenging it at the European court of human rights.
Heaton-Harris acknowledged the opposition to the bill today, but said no one had come up with a better idea for resolving legacy issues. At an event with Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach (Irish PM); and Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission vice-president for interinstitutional relations, where they were unveiling new funding for Northern Ireland (see 4.30pm), Heaton-Harris said:
Lots of people ranged against the legacy bill, but no-one has an alternative for what could possibly replace it, and no one can tell me that the current situation that has been running for the last 25 years has been satisfactory to the families of victims either.
So I fully acknowledge this is not perfect. I’ve met with an awful lot of people who lost loved ones in the Troubles, I’ve met with people who had family members maimed, I’ve met with people who are truly victims, I cannot put myself in their shoes.
But 25 years on, some of these families will have been looking for answers [from] when the Troubles commenced – you could say the best part of 40 or 50 years – and haven’t really received them.
This is an honest and true attempt to try and get information for those families.
Varadkar said there was still time for the government to pause the bill. He said:
I had a chance to meet with the secretary of state today and once again expressed the Irish government’s opposition to the legacy bill.
It isn’t law yet, it still has to pass through the House of Lords and receive royal assent. Once again, I appealed to the UK government to pause this, we don’t think it is the right thing to do.
That’s all from me for today. My colleague Donna Ferguson is now taking over.
Updated
TUC votes for policy of 'non-compliance and non-cooperation' with Strikes Act
As expected, unions at the TUC in Liverpool passed a motion calling for “a strategy of non-compliance and non-cooperation” with the Strikes Act, the new legislation imposing minimum service levels in key public services during strikes.
The RMT leader, Mick Lynch, told delegates: “That’s what we have to do – that’s the message. We are a fighting union movement and we are going to turn this legislation over.”
Unions believe the new law, which allows employers to specify which workers must turn up on strike days, is unworkable in its present form.
The TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, has stressed that it is not encouraging workers to disobey the law – but the TUC has reported the legislation to UN watchdog the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and will seek to defend any striking worker sacked for failing to comply.
The motion calls for a special conference once full details of how the legislation will be implemented to decide how unions can best resist it.
Updated
Downing Street has said France and Britain could do more to cut the number of small boat Channel crossings. After the publication of figures showing that the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats this year has now passed 23,000, with more than 2,000 arrivals recorded last week alone, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists:
I think we’re in no doubt on both sides there is certainly more we can do.
Obviously, we are in touch with our French counterparts about taking further action to prevent crossings.
I think it is still worth noting that, for the first time ever since these sorts of crossings began, the numbers are tracking lower than they did the previous year. That is notable and significant.
But, obviously, there is much more to do to get this situation under control. So, we will continue to work very, very closely with our French counterparts to up interceptions, both at the channel but further upstream as well.
I have updated the post at 4.13pm. Oliver Dowden, the deputy PM, told MPs there was a “strong case” for treating China as a state of concern under the new National Security Act, which is potentially significant. (The original post said “strong case” applied to something else, because initially it was not clear to me what he had said.)
Sir Julian Lewis, the chair of the intelligence and security committee, asks if Sunak will agree to meet the committee. When it was set up, the PM used to meet it every year, he says. But those meetings have not taken place since 2014.
Sunak says he will consider the request.
Updated
Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs committee, gets the first backbench question to Sunak. She had contacts with the researcher accused of spying, but she does not ask about this case. Instead she asks Sunak about Jagtar Singh Johal, the British man detained in an Indian jail on terror charges. In response, Sunak says the government has raised this case with the Indian government.
Sunak is replying to Starmer.
On the spying allegation, he says there is a limit to what he can say because of the ongoing police investigation. But he says he has been clear with the Chinese that interference in democracy is unacceptable, such as the activity alleged to have taken place, and that James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, raised these issues on his recent visit.
Keir Starmer is responding to Sunak. On the G20, he says it is disappointing that the language on Russia was weaker than after the last G20 summit.
On China, he asks Sunak to say if he complained to China about the latest spying case before this weekend.
And if the government is not going to categorise China as a threat, what will the government do to tackle infiltration by the Chinese security services, he asks.
Sunak says he told Chinese PM at G20 summit that actions to undermine British democracy are 'completely unacceptable'
Sunak says he also used the summit to express his opposition to Chinese interference with the work of parliament during a meeting with Li Qiang, the Chinese prime minister. He says he was emphatic that “actions which seek to undermine British democracy are completely unacceptable and will never be tolerated”.
UPDATE: Sunak said:
The sanctity of this place must be protected and the right of members to speak their minds without fear or sanction must be maintained.
We will defend our democracy and our security.
So I was emphatic with Premier Li that actions which seek to undermine British democracy are completely unacceptable and will never be tolerated.
I also emphasised the UK’s unyielding commitment to human rights and I was clear on the importance of maintaining stability and international law as the basis for stable relations.
Updated
Sunak says he had three goals at the G20 summit. He says he wanted to increase the diplomatic pressure on Russia, and “call out” its disruption of global food supplies in the Black Sea; to show that democracies can lead global action on issues such as climate change; and to strengthen Britain’s economic ties with other countries. He claims he made progress in all these areas.
Updated
In the Commons Rishi Sunak is now making a statement on the outcome of the G20 summit.
Mindful of the recent reprimand from the parliamentary commissioner for standards, he begins by reminding MPs that he and his family are of Indian origin, that his wife and her family are Indian and that they have financial interests in India.
Unite leader Sharon Graham says public ownership only 'credible answer' to problems with energy sector
Sharon Graham, the Unite leader, has used her speech at TUC Congress to urge Labour to nationalise the energy sector. She said:
Energy privatisation has failed, pure and simple. It has crippled our communities and what remains of our industrial base. There is only one credible answer. We need to take our energy back into public hands. And friends, don’t let anyone tell you that we cannot afford it: it will cost us £90bn to take our energy back into public ownership. We’re a £2.5tn economy. Of course it’s affordable: it is a choice.
She also had a direct dig at Labour, accusing them of being “too timid to talk of hope, too conservative to make change”.
While spending limits become austerity-lite, when you refuse to even discuss taking back control of our national assets and you’re watering down your own promises to give workers a voice. If you lose sight of what you’re in there to do, then you are not seeing whose side you should be on and what we created you for.
Most other Labour-affiliated unions here in Liverpool have been publicly supportive of Keir Starmer’s party, hailing his promises on workers’ rights - despite some concerns about issues such as taxation.
Updated
Back in the Commons Oliver Dowden, the deputy PM, says he expects MPs to hold a full debate on the lessons to be learnt from this case once the police investigation is over.
Northern Ireland is set to receive close to £1bn in funding announced today by the Irish and UK governments and the European Commission, PA Media reports. The funding programme – Peaceplus – amounts to €1.14bn (£978m) and is designed to support peace and prosperity across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland. Peaceplus will deliver investment across six key themes designed to ensure the continued economic, social and environmental development of Northern Ireland and the six border counties.
Updated
Mark Serwotka, the outgoing general secretary of the PCS union, which has about 200,000 members, many of them civil servants, has told the Guardian he fears Labour has the wrong priorities.
Serwotka, whose union is not affiliated to the party, said: “We’re all desperate to get them [the Conservatives] gone and have a Labour government, but I think Labour have to have a vision and at the moment their priorities are all wrong.”
He cited Rachel Reeves’ recent suggestion that Labour would not implement a wealth tax, and the party’s refusal to say it would abolish the two-child limit on benefits. He went on:
Why would you cut off increasing revenue, if you can do it fairly? Why would you not prioritise those who are desperate for change? The risk that runs is that you don’t enthuse people, and you just rely on the Tories being unpopular.
You run a huge risk: either people won’t vote, or we saw in 2019 people who had voted Labour all their lives voting Tory over Brexit. Do you win those voters back by being fiscally conservative, or by saying: ‘We will introduce free school meals, we will make sure people can be helped out of poverty, we will invest, because investment in public services is economically beneficial in the long run?’
Somewhat ironically, Serwotka said that by being over-cautious, Labour was “gambling with the outcome of the election”.
Updated
Labour’s Barry Gardiner says he knows what those accused feel like. Last year it emerged he had accepted more than £500,000 in donations for his office from an Anglo-Chinese lawyer accused by MI5 of acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist party. He says she is suing the government.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, reprimands Gardiner. He says Gardiner cannot say the two cases are the same, and he tells him not to speculate.
Updated
Dowden says there is 'strong case' for treating China as state of concern under new National Security Act
Tim Loughton (Con) says that, despite being sanctioned by the Chinese, he has not been briefed on this case. He says he learnt more about the man accused of spying for China from his son than from the security authorities. That is because his son was at university with the accused man, he says.
He asks if China will be in the enhanced tier of countries in the foreign influence registration scheme being set up under the National Security Act. (See 11.29am.)
Dowden says there is a “strong case” for this, but that he is not in a position to announce the decision now.
UPDATE: I have corrected the last paragraph in the post above. Originally it quoted Dowden as saying there was a strong case to be made that he should not answer that question at the dispatch box. But having listened to the tape again, it is clear that he said there was a strong case (for designating China as a state of concern) but that he should not make an announcement at the dispatch box. (First time round, I did not hear the “but”).
Dowden said:
We are currently reviewing which countries are within that enhanced tier. I think there is a strong case to be made. But you would not expect me to make that announcement from the dispatch box until we have gone through the proper process in respect of it.
Updated
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, asks if James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, was aware of these allegations before his recent visit to China.
Dowden says Cleverly regularly raises issues of democratic interference with the Chinese. But he does not answer the question directly.
Updated
Truss says China largest threat to freedom and democracy in UK and world at large, and urges government to say so
Liz Truss, the former PM, says these reports are extremely worrying. She says the government needs to recognise that China is “the largest threat, both to the world and the United Kingdom, for freedom and democracy”. She say the government should designate it as such.
Dowden says China is a systemic challenge. It is also the number one state-based threat to economic security, he says.
UPDATE: Truss said:
These are extremely worrying reports about the level of infiltration of Chinese-supported forces into our democracy. Does [Dowden] agree that what we need to do is to recognise that China is the largest threat, both to the world and to the United Kingdom, for freedom and democracy? And does he not agree that the government should designate it as such?
And Dowden replied:
She is absolutely right that China represents a systemic challenge to our interests and values, and it is also the case, for example, in respect of our economic security, it is the number one state-based threat to our economic security.
What I would say to her is that the government is absolutely clear-eyed about the threats that this nation faces and robust in taking action. Indeed that is why I personally took the decisions in respect of banning Huawei from our 5G networks, in respect of Chinese CCTV technology, and indeed in relation to TikTok.
We will continue to take whatever steps are necessary based on appropriate advice to provide that protection for our nation and our democratic institutions.
It is very concerning to hear further reports of China seeking to undermine our freedom and democracy. I urged the Deputy Prime Minister to designate China as a threat. pic.twitter.com/0twxiyDQDR
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) September 11, 2023
Updated
Sir Julian Lewis, the chair of the intelligence and security committee, says the government’s initial response to its report was to suggest that it might be out of date. He asks for an assurance that the response will address the importance of addressing the threat of interference in the democratic system.
Dowden says the response will address this.
In the light of the news over the weekend, the report is looking more prescient than out of date. It says:
China almost certainly maintains the largest state intelligence apparatus in the world. The nature and scale of the Chinese Intelligence Services are – like many aspects of China’s government – hard to grasp for the outsider, due to the size of the bureaucracy, the blurring of lines of accountability between party and state officials, a partially decentralised system, and a lack of verifiable information.
The Chinese Intelligence Services target the UK and its overseas interests prolifically and aggressively. While they seek to obtain classified information, they are willing to utilise intelligence officers and agents to collect open source information indiscriminately – given the vast resources at their disposal. In more ways than one, the broad remit of the Chinese Intelligence Services poses a significant challenge to Western attempts to counter their activity …
In terms of interference, China oversteps the boundary and crosses the line from exerting influence – a legitimate course of action – into interference, in the pursuit of its interests and values at the expense of those of the UK.
Decision-makers – from serving politicians to former political figures, senior government officials and the military – are, inevitably, key targets. China employs a range of tactics, including seeking to recruit them into lucrative roles in Chinese companies – to the extent that we questioned whether there was a revolving door between the Government and certain Chinese companies, with those involved in awarding contracts being ‘rewarded’ with jobs.
Dowden is replying to Cooper. He starts by thanking her for adopting a constructive approach overall.
He says the PM and the foreign secretary regularly raise with their opposite numbers Chinese interference in the democratic process.
That does not properly answer the question posed by Cooper (see 3.48pm), and posted by Keir Starmer earlier (see 12.04pm).
He says the government will be responding very soon to the intelligence and security committee’s recent report on China. He says he hopes MPs will see it this week.
Updated
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, says MI5 issued an alert to parliamentarians about the threat from China. She asks if the PM only raised the spying allegations with China this weekend, or whether he had raised them earlier.
And, on a different security issue, she asks about the escape of Daniel Khalife from Wandsworth prison. Is it true that he evaded capture for three weeks when the police first tried to arrest him, she asks. And she asks if it is true that another prisoner escaped from Wandsworth in 2019 by hiding under a van.
Dowden rattles through a list of measures taken by the government to reduce the security threat posed by China.
He says the Houses of Parliament are a monument to freedom of expression and belief. The government will maintain constant vigilance against those who seek to undermine these values, he says.
Deputy PM Oliver Dowden makes statement to MPs about arrest of Commons researcher suspected of spying for China
Oliver Dowden, the deputy PM, is making his statement to MPs about the research arrested on suspicion of spying.
He says the researcher and another individual were arrested as part of a counterterrorism investigation. He says these are serious allegations and it is right they are being investigated. MPs must not prejudice that inquiry, he says.
He says the UK must be able to call out unacceptable behaviour by China directly.
But actions speak louder than words, he says. That is why he banned Chinese IT companies from the government estate, and banned TikTok from government devices, he says.
Updated
Ammesty International UK says people who have fled China who provide evidence to parliamentarians about what is happening in their country will be alarmed at the revelation that a Commons researcher has been accused of spying. Polly Truscott, Amnesty International UK’s foreign policy adviser, said:
Amnesty International continues to document the Chinese government’s ever-expanding repression at home and abroad, and the chilling effect it has on Tibetans, Uyghurs, mainland Chinese and Hongkongers’ fight for their rights, including those living in the UK.
If true, this spying scandal reveals yet another layer of intrusion being inflicted on foreign soil, and puts activists from these groups - who believed they were being protected when seeking help and giving vital information to parliamentarians - in very real danger.
Updated
Hunt says he is unlikely to have money for tax cuts in autumn statement
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has told Bloomberg that it is “unlikely” that he will have more fiscal firepower this autumn to fund tax cuts or higher spending. Graeme Wearden has the story on his business live blog.
Updated
Starmer rejects suggestion from Unite leader that he's too focused on being Blairite '1990s tribute act'
Keir Starmer has rejected suggestions that he is too focused on emulating Tony Blair.
The Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said at the weekend that Starmer should “consign 1997 to the history books” and that if he was “intent on becoming a 1990s tribute act” he would not lead Britain out of decline. In an article for the Sunday Times she said:
The fact is, adopting the “hands-free” approach won’t deliver the goods. Unlike 1997 the light touch will not produce a magic money tree. The conditions are just not there …
If Labour is intent on becoming a 1990s tribute act in an age where laissez faire does not belong, big questions will remain unanswered.
On a visit to a school in east London, Starmer said the criticism was unfair. Asked about Graham’s comment, he said:
The Labour party is absolutely focused on the future, not the past, and the challenges that we will inherit if we’re privileged enough to go into government.
The central challenge will be growing the economy. Within that is dignity and respect for working people in their working environment.
Asked how he plans to keep unions on side, Starmer said:
The Labour party and the trade unions have had a long relationship together and we had a big session at the beginning of the summer where we agreed policy going forward. So what you’ll see here is a lot of common ground as we go towards what we know will be really huge challenges.
Updated
According to YouGov, Rishi Sunak’s approval ratings have hit their lowest level since be became prime minister.
In late August, Rishi Sunak's net favourability rating hit -41, his lowest score since becoming PM
— YouGov (@YouGov) September 11, 2023
Favourable: 26%
Unfavourable: 67%https://t.co/Gqvqembbd1 pic.twitter.com/VTuu5vxq9T
Welsh first minister says after 'period of turbulence' people will accept default 20mph speed limit as sensible
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has admitted that a “period of turbulence” will follow the introduction of the very controversial default 20mph speed limit for most roads currently set at 30mph.
Speaking at a press conference to mark the start of the new Senedd term, Drakeford said:
I’m reconciled to a period of turbulence when you make a change. I’m also confident that once the policy is operating, people will see it is a sensible and progressive thing to do.
The Welsh Labour leader likened the 20mph scheme, which comes into force on Sunday, to breathalyser tests, the compulsory wearing of seat belts and previous changes to speed limits, which he said were controversial when they were brought in but now “completely accepted”. He added: “It is a relatively small thing to ask that we drive at speeds that save lives.”
The first minister also warned that this Senedd term opens against the “bleakest financial backdrop” in the whole of the devolution period with the Welsh government facing a £900m drop in real terms compared with what was expected at the time of the 2021 spending review. He said difficult decisions about spending were being made by the cabinet and would be announced soon.
Drakeford said other priorities this term included starting the process of reforming the Senedd, the Welsh parliament, making changes to the bus industry and protecting people living in the shadow of disused coal tips.
Updated
Glasgow moves closer to piloting drug consumption room after lord advocate says its users would not face prosecution
Scotland’s chief prosecutor has said she would not pursue addicts using a drug consumption room mooted for Glasgow, clearing one of the last remaining legal obstacles to the city hosting the UK’s first legalised site.
Dorothy Bain KC, the lord advocate, announced on today she would formally rule that it was not in the public interest to prosecute addicts carrying small amounts for personal use, if she was asked to.
Bain said it was not her place to authorise a drug consumption room – a site many drugs reform and health campaigners say could help cut Scotland’s soaring drugs deaths, and it did not mean the police would not enforce other laws.
She said:
On the basis of the information I have been provided, I would be prepared to publish a prosecution policy that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute drug users for simple possession offences committed within a pilot safer drugs consumption facility.
[That] will not extend to any criminal offences other than possession of controlled substances, contrary to section 5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. It does not amount to an exclusion zone whereby a range of criminality is tolerated.
[It] has been of the utmost importance to me to ensure that Police Scotland retain the ability to effectively police the facility and ensure that the wider community, those operating the site and those using the facility can be kept safe.
Scottish ministers said that cleared the way for Glasgow’s council, health board and police to set up a so-called safer drug consumption facility as “quickly as possible”.
In response, Elena Whitham, the drug and alcohol policy minister, said in a statement:
This is not a silver bullet. But we know from evidence from more than a hundred facilities worldwide that safer drug consumption facilities work. It is now time to see this approach piloted in Scotland.
The UK government has repeatedly and consistently refused to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act to give the Scottish project legal protection and opposes the policy, despite growing support for a pilot project in England as well as Scotland.
Speaker tells MPs not to discuss details of spying allegation, saying 'sensitive' inquiry still under way
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, says he will make a brief statement about a security matter.
MPs will have seen media reports about China and access to the Commons, he says.
He says the Met has confirmed that two men have been arrested and are on bail until October.
He says MPs do not discuss security matters in the chamber.
This is an ongoing, sensitive investigation. Members of course understand that public discussion will be wholly inappropriate.
But he says he wants to assure MPs that the Commons follows the same vetting arrangements as the government.
The small number of MPs who needed to know about this were briefed on it, he says.
He says MPs should not discuss the identity of those involved, speculate about the case, or comment on the details. There is a risk of prejudicing prosecutions, he says.
And he says the media reporting (which in one case has involved a suspect being named) has been “unhelpful”.
Hoyle does not take any questions afterwards.
(In an hour we have a Commons statement on the story from Oliver Dowden, the deputy PM. Quite how MPs are going to get through it without discussing details of the case isn’t clear.)
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Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, is about to make his statement to MPs about the arrest of a researcher suspect of spying for China.
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No 10 signals 'proud Brexiter' Sunak siding with leavers in Last Night of Proms EU flag controversy
Some Brexiters were outraged by the sight of large numbers of EU flags being waved at the Last Night of the Proms at the weekend, as Matthew Weaver reports.
At the Downing Street lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson was asked if Rishi Sunak was concerned to see so many EU flags on display at the concert. Without doing the full Harvey Proctor, the spokesperson said:
The prime minister is a proud Brexiteer. He was flying the flag for the UK in India on issues including a free trade deal.
From BMW, to Tata, to CPTPP [the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-pacific partnership], we are seeing the union jack’s prominence around the world, and that’s as a direct result of Brexit.
The Sun has summed this up at Sunak/No 10 taking a swipe at “remoaners”.
‘Proud Brexiteer’ Rishi Sunak hits back after Remoaners stage protest at BBC’s Last Night Of The Proms: https://t.co/eAKwtI1mph
— Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) September 11, 2023
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Former Tory education minister recalls Treasury repeatedly turning down request for extra cash to deal with Raac
More detail has emerged today about ministerial efforts to secure funding from the Treasury to improve the school estate, as the government continues to grapple with the crisis of crumbling concrete in school buildings.
Lord Agnew, who as academies minister 2017-20 was also responsible for school capital spending, told GB News he had about 10 meetings with the Treasury to try to secure a long-term funding envelope, but was turned down.
Agnew said reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or Raac, had been on the agenda for years. He asked the Treasury for a 10-year envelope of money so he could go out to the building industry and they could “tool up” for a school refurbishment programme. He said:
They said it has to sit within the spending review, but I said to them: ‘Well, are we not going to have any schools at the end of the spending review?’
I said: ‘What’s going to happen at the end of the year or the three year spending review? And of course they didn’t have any answer.
MPs on the public accounts committee will this afternoon question the permanent secretary to the Department for Education, Susan Acland-Hood, about the condition of school buildings.
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TUC leader condemns Tory approach to immigrants, saying workers' real enemies arrive 'by private jet', not small boat
Trade union activists gathering here in Liverpool are enthusiastic about the imminent prospect of a Labour government – but also wary about whether Keir Starmer’s party will deliver the change they want to see.
Paul Nowak, the new TUC general secretary, used his speech to its conference to deliver a scathing attack on the government over its approach to treatment of immigrants. He told delegates:
I am proud to be the grandson of immigrants. Proud of my family, and proud of the contribution that they and millions like them have made to this country.
So, when I hear the home secretary talking of a ‘migrant invasion’, that her dream is to deport people to Rwanda, when I see immigrants housed on a barge with legionella, or hear that the immigration minister ordered a mural for kids painted over, for me it is personal.
Because the real enemies of the working class don’t arrive in a small boat, they fly in by private jet …
Every migrant is my sister, my brother, and this government shames us all because our country should never turn its back on those fleeing persecution, poverty or war.
Nowak also made it clear he would be urging the public to vote for Keir Starmer’s party at the next general election. He said: “I will tell anyone who asks: ‘Vote for the party we named for our movement, vote Labour’”.
But he also called for higher taxes on the rich; and stressed that the TUC expects Labour to fulfil its promise of passing a radical employment bill within its first 100 days.
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Spying allegation won't stop China being invited to AI summit, No 10 hints
And here are some more lines from what was said at the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning about China, in addition to the comments already posted (see 12.10pm, 12.20pm and 12.36pm).
The spokesperson hinted that China woud be invited to the international summit on artificial intelligence (AI) being held in the UK in November. Asked if China would be coming, the spokesperson did not reply directly. But it is understood Sunak believes that AI “knows no borders” and that, if there is a potential threat, as many countries as possible should be involved in countering it.
The spokesperson implied that James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, was briefed about the arrest of the Commons researcher before his recent visit to China. Asked if Cleverly was told about the case, the spokesperson said that he could not discuss the case, because the investigation was live. But he went on: “You would expect ministers to receive relevant updates on security issues.” Earlier Nigel Farage, the former leader of Ukip and then the Brexit party, and someone with an acute sense of how kneejerk jingoism can be used to attack the government, said on X/Twitter that Cleverly’s trip should not have gone ahead. He said:
If the alleged Chinese spy in Westminster was arrested in March then why did the foreign secretary still visit China this summer?
If the alleged Chinese spy in Westminster was arrested in March then why did the Foreign Secretary still visit China this summer?
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) September 11, 2023
The spokesperson would not say whether China will be listed as a state of concern when the full National Security Act comes into force, as the former MI6 boss has suggested it should be (see 10.45am).
The spokesperson said Rishi Sunak still had full confidence in Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, despite reports saying that he had some dealings with the person accused of spying before he became a minister.
The spokesperson said it was for the Metropolitan police to decide who was informed about the arrest of the suspected spy. The spokesperson was responding to the claim made by the Tory MP Tim Loughton that parliamentarians sanctioned by China should have been informed. (See 11.29am.)
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No 10 rejects classing China as 'threat', saying UK must engage, not just 'shout from sideline'
Unsurprisingly, No 10 rejected suggestions that China should be classed as a threat. At the Downing Street lobby briefing, asked the question that is driving Sir Alex Younger to despair (see 10.45am), the PM’s spokesperson said Rishi Sunak was standing by his decision not to describe China in these terms. The spokesperson said:
You’ve heard the prime minister talk about this before. We’ve set out our approach to China. We are always very clear-eyed about the risks. They do represent an epoch-defining challenge to the UK. We do not think it is right to reduce the approach to just one word given we need to take the opportunity to engage with China, not to just shout from the sideline.
As you saw from the prime minister yesterday, he took the opportunity to call them out about some of these reports that we are seeing, left them in no doubt that these sorts of actions are completely unacceptable, and that we will robustly defend our democracy.
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No 10 refuses to say if UK raised alleged spying case with China before this weekend
Keir Starmer has challenged Rishi Sunak (see 12.04pm) to say whether the government challenged China over the activities of the suspected spy in parliament before this weekend, when Sunak raised it with his Chinese counterpart, Li Qiang, at the G20 summit after the story broke in the Sunday Times.
At the morning No 10 lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson was asked if Sunak’s conversation with Li was the first time this had been raised at government to government level. The spokesperson replied:
On the issue of interference with democracy, sanction of parliamentarians, no. On this specific case, I can’t get into [it].
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Deputy PM Oliver Dowden to make statement to MPs about arrest of researcher on suspicion of spying for China
Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, will make a statement to MPs this afternoon about the arrest of a Commons research on suspicion of spying for China, No 10 said at the morning lobby briefing.
The statement is expected to come at 3.30pm, before Rishi Sunak delivers his own statement to MPs about the outcome of the G20 summit.
I will post more from the lobby briefing shortly.
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Starmer says Sunak needs to say when UK first confronted China over suspected spying by Commons researcher
Keir Starmer has challenged Rishi Sunak to say when the government first confronted China over the case of the Commons researcher arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing.
Asked about the story during a visit to a school this morning, Starmer replied:
This morning the very big question now for the prime minister … is: was this raised when these arrests took place back in March or has it only been raised now that it’s come into the public domain? I think that’s the central question that needs to be answered by the prime minister today.
Starmer said that he personally only heard about the case “very recently”.
Asked if he thought the government should categorise China as a threat, Starmer replied:
Strategic challenge is I think the right way to describe what we’re confronted with here but that does require that consistency of approach and that’s what’s been lacking …
What we need is a policy that is clear and is settled. And we haven’t had that for the last 10 years. We’ve had division and inconsistency from this government.
The government describes China as an “epoch-defining challenge”. See 9.22am.
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Simon Clarke, who was the levelling up secretary during the Liz Truss premiership, has defended the government’s decision not to explicitly label China as a threat. In posts on X, or Twitter as many of us still call it, he said:
There are legitimate reasons why it is difficult for ministers to say China is a threat – that’s the nature of international relations. What matters more than words is that our policy choices change to reflect the undoubted danger of China’s actions.
There are legitimate reasons why it is difficult for ministers to say China is a threat - that’s the nature of international relations. What matters more than words is that our policy choices change to reflect the undoubted danger of China’s actions.
— Simon Clarke MP (@SimonClarkeMP) September 11, 2023
Here I think the Government’s record stands up pretty well. You have the soft power of our new Pacific trade bloc membership in the CPTPP (which notably does not include China) and you have the hard power of the new AUKUS alliance - itself a response to Chinese aggression.
Here I think the Government’s record stands up pretty well. You have the soft power of our new Pacific trade bloc membership in the CPTPP (which notably does not include China) and you have the hard power of the new AUKUS alliance - itself a response to Chinese aggression.
— Simon Clarke MP (@SimonClarkeMP) September 11, 2023
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Ministers have vowed to reduce suicide rates in England with the launch of more than 100 initiatives amid particular concerns over rising deaths and self-harm among children and young people, Andrew Gregory reports. The Department of Health and Social Care’s news release is here, the suicide action plan is here, and here is Andrew’s story.
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Tim Loughton, one of the Conservative MPs who has been sanctioned by China for being critical of Beijing, told Times Radio this morning that he and other colleagues have asked for an urgent question (UQ) on the arrest of a Commons researcher on suspicion of spying for China. Loughton said he wanted an explanation. He went on:
Who knew what when? What discussions have gone on between ministers and Chinese officials to haul them up over this one? Because the prime minister took it up with the premier from China at the G20 summit, as if this is something that had just happened and it’s not.
So we’ve got a lot of questions to put for both the parliamentary authorities and to government ministers as well. And it really is not remotely appropriate that those of us most in the firing line – being sanctioned by China, under threat by China – have not been given some briefing about exactly what’s happened. The first I knew about it was when the story was broken in the Sunday Times.
Normally the Commons speaker works on the basis that, if MPs tell the media they are tabling an UQ, he is less likely to grant it.
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Simon McDonald, the former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, has acknowledged revealing to colleagues – including government ministers – that he voted to remain in the EU during the 2016 referendum. Kevin Rawlinson has the story.
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, also refused to label China as either “friend or foe” when interviewed on Sky News this morning. She said the relationship was “clearly complex”, and she claimed the government needed a strategy for dealing with the threats posed by other states, akin to the counterterrorism strategy. “We need that because those state challenges are growing,” she said.
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Former MI6 boss suggests China should be categorised as state of concern under new National Security Act
Sir Alex Younger, the former head of MI6, told the Today programme this morning that the National Security Act passed earlier this year would help the UK deal with the threat posed by China. He also said the government should categorise China as a country of particular concern under powers in the act.
Here is a summary of the main points he made.
Younger said that the UK had to be willing to “confront” China, but he implied the debate about whether or not it was a “threat” was too simplistic. (This is a debate that has been live particularly in the Conservative party – see 9.22am.) Asked if China should be designated a threat, he replied:
The first is, I tend to switch off when I hear: ‘It’s a threat, isn’t a threat. We should call it a threat, we shouldn’t call it a threat. James Cleverly should go to China or not.’
We need to, geopolitically, be capable of chewing gum and walking at the same time.
Of course we need to engage with China. Of course we need to compete against China – in a way that it understands competition, by the way, linking economics and politics and security all together.
And sometimes we need to confront China. In my experience, just being nice to them doesn’t get you very far.
He also said the threat/no threat debate “sounds a bit binary and, if I may say so, a bit immature”. He went on:
China’s a fact. It’s a huge country. We’ve got to find ways of engaging with it. We’ve got to find ways of competing with it, economically and technologically. We have to find ways of cooperating in important areas like climate change. And sometimes we have to be absolutely prepared to confront it when we believe that our security interests are threatened. And by the way, that is exactly how they will behave towards us.
He said the National Security Act 2023 would make it easier for the UK to respond to the threat posed by China. The parliamentary researcher arrested for spying was arrested under the Official Secrets Act, a law passed years ago, but Younger said new legislation was needed to tackle forms of covert intelligence gathering by foreign states not covered by the OSA. He said there used to be activities “that frankly members of the public would just think of as spying, such as working for a foreign intelligence service” that were not illegal. He said the NSA, which became law in the summer, changed that. He explained:
With the introduction of the National Security Act, which I campaigned for along with many colleagues, and I think is a good piece of legislation, you now have the direct criminalisation of undisclosed attempts to influence on behalf of a foreign government, what we would call political interference, with an additional option to specify specific states as being of specific concern in that context.
He said China should probably be categorised as a state of concern under the terms of the NSA. He said:
If [people] are talking about the specific point of whether China should be designated within the terms of the National Security Act as a particular state of concern, and therefore links to China should mandate additional reporting requirements … my view is probably it should be.
Younger was referring to the way the foreign influence registration scheme will work under the act. Here is a description from a Home Office briefing.
The foreign influence registration scheme (FIRS) is a two-tier scheme which increases transparency of foreign power influence in UK politics and provides greater assurance around the activities of certain foreign powers or entities that are a risk to UK safety or interests. As a result, the UK will be better informed about the nature, scale and extent of foreign influence in the UK.
The political influence tier will require the registration of arrangements to carry out political influence activities in the UK at the direction of a foreign power. The enhanced tier of FIRS gives the secretary of state the power to require registration of a broader range of activities for specified foreign powers or foreign power-controlled entities where this is necessary to protect the safety of interests of the UK.
The scheme contains offences for those who fail to comply with registration requirements, or who act pursuant to unregistered or falsely registered arrangements.
He said China’s intelligence effort went beyond just trying to get secrets, and included trying to exert influence. He said:
The scope is far broader than anything we would defined as intelligence here. It includes information more broadly and influence. The significance of influence – undisclosed attempts to change the way in which people behave – is underestimated within our system. It’s not something we’re familiar with. It is fundamental to the way China operates.
Asked if hundreds of people might be engaged in trying to secretly influence policy on behalf of China, he replied:
It’s hard. It’s hard to speculate. You can’t prove a negative. I can only say to you that, far more than it would be the case with a democratic country, this is an intrinsic part of of the way in which China seeks to protect its power.
He said this sort of activity from China would increase. He said:
My suspicion is there will be crude attempts, some of which have been brought to light, some of which would have been subject to warnings by MI5, and there’ll be other more sophisticated attempts. But it’s going to grow.
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Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, will make a brief statement in the chamber at 2:30pm about the arrest of a parliamentary researcher accused of spying, his office says.
This may be an indication that we won’t be getting a separate ministerial statement or urgent question on the topic.
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Commons researcher accused of spying for China says he is 'completely innocent'
The parliamentary researcher who has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China has said he is “completely innocent”.
In a statement released by his lawyers, Birnberg Peirce, the man – whom they did not name – said:
I feel forced to respond to the media accusations that I am a ‘Chinese spy’. It is wrong that I should be obliged to make any form of public comment on the misreporting that has taken place.
However, given what has been reported, it is vital that it is known that I am completely innocent. I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist party.
To do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for.
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In interviews this morning, Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, refused to say whether she thought China should be banned from the international summit on regulating artificial intelligence that Rishi Sunak is hosting in November. “That’s a decision for the prime minister to take,” she said, when asked about the matter on Sky News.
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Kemi Badenoch says it would be a mistake to call China a ‘foe’ as spy suspect arrest revives Tory calls to toughen approach
Good morning. One of the many aspects of politics that has changed dramatically over the past decade is the way the government views China. David Cameron came to power determined to establish warm relations with Beijing, but in recent years relations have deteriorated considerably and a Conservative government that views China with considerable suspicion is being urged by some of its hawkish backbenchers to go much further, and to treat it as a hostile opponent.
The revelation yesterday that a parliamentary researcher linked to the Conservatives has been arrested on spying charges has turbocharged this debate. Understandably, the hawks are feeling vindicated.
As Helen Davidson and Peter Walker report, China has dismissed the news as Sinophobic propaganda. “The claim that China is suspected of ‘stealing British intelligence’ is completely fabricated and nothing but malicious slander,” the Chinese embassy in London said.
The Tory hawks want the government to categorise China as a threat. In an update to the integrated review of defence and security published in March, the government instead said it posed “an epoch-defining challenge” (although that was an advance on the previous review, which said the country was a “systemic competitor”.)
This morning Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, was doing a morning interview round and she suggested that toughening the rhetoric used to describe China would be counterproductive. Asked on Sky News whether China was friend or foe, she replied:
China is a country that we do a lot of business with. China is a country that is significant in terms of world economics. It sits on the UN security council. We certainly should not be describing China as a foe but we can describe it as a challenge … I don’t think we should be careless in terms of how we speak about other countries when these sorts of things happen.
She said it was important not to use “language that makes people scared” and to remain diplomatic.
And asked on the Today programme if China should be designated a threat, she suggested that might “escalate” the problem. She said:
Whether or not you use words like threat I think is a reflection of how far you want to escalate things.
China is the second largest economy in the world, it’s heavily integrated in our economy as it is with many of our allies … We’re taking the same approach that those countries are taking.
I will post more from her interviews shortly.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.30am: Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, visits Oxford as part of BMW’s announcement about its plan to produce the electric Mini in the city. Graeme Wearden has more on this on his business live blog.
Morning: Keir Starmer and Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, visit a school in Dagenham.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Morning: Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, speaks on the first full day of its annual conference in Liverpool.
After 3.30pm: Rishi Sunak is expected to give a Commons statement on the outcome of the G20 summit in India.
After 3.30pm: A minister may give a statement, or have to respond to an urgent Commons question, about the arrest of a parliamentary researcher on suspicion of spying for China.
Also, James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, is on the first day of a trip to Israel and Palestine. He is due to meet the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line, privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate), or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.
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