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.”
