Afternoon summary
Andrea Egan, the new, leftwing general secretary of Unison, one of the most powerful unions in Labour politics, has claimed that the survival of the labour movement is “on the line” because of the mistakes being made by Keir Starmer. (See 2.11pm.)
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
Starmer says government considering whether Chinese firm will be allowed to suppy turbines for North Sea windfarm
Pippa Crerar is the Guardian’s political editor, in China covering the PM’s visit.
Keir Starmer has said the government has yet to decide whether to allow a Chinese company to suppy turbines for a major windfarm in the North Sea.
As Eleni Courea reported last year, the government is in discussions with Green Volt North Sea over whether Mingyang, China’s biggest offshore wind company, should supply the wind turbines. There are concerns in government about a Chinese government having a role in critical infrastructure of this kind.
Asked about this plan, Starmer told reporters:
No decision has been made in relation to Mingyang. There’s no decision on that yet, one way or another, but obviously uppermost in our minds is the national security of the United Kingdom.
Asked whether the considerations were the same for windfarms as for nuclear power stations, Starmer replied: “That’s part of the consideration in any decision. But there is no decision.”
