Rishi Sunak has said the “golden era” between the UK and China is over as he called for a new approach to the Chinese government.
The prime minister, speaking at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet at London’s Guildhall, criticised China’s human rights abuses but said the UK “cannot simply ignore China’s significance in world affairs”.
Mr Sunak was criticised during this summer’s leadership campaign for being soft on China but he used his speech on Monday to show he will not stand for its actions, saying things are not black and white when it comes to China.
“We also need to evolve our approach to China,” he said, as he laid out his stance on foreign policy.
“Let’s be clear, the so-called ‘golden era’ is over, along with the naïve idea that trade would lead to social and political reform.
“But nor should we rely on simplistic Cold War rhetoric.
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“We recognise China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism.”
In 2015, then chancellor George Osborne echoed the Chinese ambassador’s claims that China and the UK were in a “golden era” of bilateral relations, but by 2020 relations had somewhat soured under Boris Johnson’s government.
Mr Sunak acknowledged the current protests against COVID lockdowns in China – a rare sight in a country where demonstrations are not a common sight, and have not been since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
He said, instead of listening to people’s concerns, the Chinese government “has chosen to crack down further” as he mentioned the arrest and beating of a BBC journalist this weekend.
Mr Sunak was set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Indonesia during the G20 summit earlier this month but the meeting was cancelled after NATO members had to hold an emergency meeting after a Polish village near the Ukrainian border was bombed.
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2:38
Why are people protesting in China?
The PM hit out at China’s lack of freedom of expression as he said both the media and British MPs must be able to report on human rights abuses, such as those in Xinjiang and Hong Kong “without sanction”.
But, he said there is no way the UK can “simply ignore China’s significance in world affairs – to global stability or issues like climate change”.
He added that the US, Canada, Australia, Japan “and many others understand this too” as he said together they can “manage this sharpening competition, including with diplomacy and engagement”.
“Much of this is about dramatically improving our resilience, particularly our economic security,” he said.
Image: A protester is pinned down and arrested in Shanghai, China . Pic: AP
The PM listed actions the UK government has taken to stop China from limiting China’s influence in the UK, including new powers under the National Security and Investment Act.
He also mentioned the government blocking the £63m sale of semiconductor manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab to Chinese-owned Nexperia two weeks ago and the removal of Huawei’s 5G network from the UK.
Mr Sunak also spoke of the UK being a country “that stands up for our values, that defends democracy by actions not just words” but as the world evolves “so does our application of those values”.
He said the UK’s “adversaries and competitors plan for the long-term” as he mentioned Russia and China and said the UK will “make an evolutionary leap in our approach”.
Image: Anti-lockdown protests have been taking place across China
The PM said the UK will increase the “quality and depth” of partnerships with like-minded countries around the world and said more details will come next year, including how the UK will work with “friends in the Commonwealth, the US, the Gulf states, Israel and others”.
Mr Sunak concluded his speech by saying: “Under my leadership we won’t choose the status quo. We will do things differently.
“We will evolve, anchored always by our enduring belief in freedom, openness and the rule of law and confident that in this moment of challenge and competition our interests will be protected and our values will prevail.”
Three people are in a life-threatening condition after a suspected arson attack at a restaurant in Ilford, say police.
Five people – three women and two men – were injured in the fire, which broke out shortly after 9pm on Friday at Indian Aroma on Woodford Avenue, Gants Hill.
No arrests have been made.
Hospital porter Edward Thawe, 43, went to help with his son after hearing screams from his nearby home.
Image: Woodford Avenue from above. Pic: UK News and Pictures
He described the scene as “horrible” and “more than scary and the sort of thing that you don’t want to look at twice”.
He said: “I heard screaming and people saying they had called the police.”
He said he saw a woman and a severely burned man who may have been customers.
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He said the man’s “whole body was burnt”, including his shirt, but he was still wearing his trousers.
After being treated at the scene by paramedics from the London Ambulance Service, the victims were taken to hospital.
Image: Indian Aroma in Ilford after the fire. Pic: UK News and Pictures
Nine others were able to get out beforehand, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said in a statement.
“The brigade’s control officers received seven calls about the fire and mobilised crews from Ilford, Hainault, Leytonstone and Woodford fire stations to the scene. The fire was extinguished by 10.32pm,” said an LFB spokesperson.
“We understand this incident will cause concern within the community. My team of specialist detectives are working at speed to piece the incident together,” said Detective Chief Inspector Mark Rogers, of the Met’s Central Specialist Crime North unit.
“Locals can expect to see a large police presence in the area. If you have any concerns, please speak to those officers on the ground.”
The London Ambulance Service told Sky News: “We sent resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and paramedics from our hazardous area response team.
Image: Indian Aroma in Ilford after the fire. Pic: UK News and Pictures
“We treated five people for burns and smoke inhalation. We took two patients to a major trauma centre and three others to local hospitals.”
Health secretary Wes Streeting, who is the MP for Ilford North, posted on X to thank the emergency services for their response to the fire.
He also asked his constituents to “please avoid the area for now”.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Met via 101, quoting 7559/22AUG. If you wish to remain anonymous, please speak with Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A weekend of protests and counter-protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers began last night, with dozens expected today. It comes as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has vowed “mass deportations” of illegal immigrants if his party wins the next general election.
Saturday is set to see more demonstrations across major towns and cities in England, organised under the Abolish Asylum System slogan, with at least 33 planned over the bank holiday weekend.
The protests are expected in Bristol, Exeter, Tamworth, Cannock, Nuneaton, Liverpool, Wakefield, Newcastle, Horley, Canary Wharf, Aberdeen and Perth in Scotland, and Mold in Wales.
Counter-protests – organised by Stand Up To Racism – are also set to be held in Bristol, Cannock, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Wakefield, Horley and Long Eaton in Derbyshire.
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2:19
Govt to appeal migrant hotel ruling
It comes after Friday night saw the first demonstrations of the weekend, including one outside the TLK hotel in Orpington, south London.
Dozens of protesters could be heard shouting “get them out” and “save our children” next to the site, while counter protesters marched to the hotel carrying banners and placards which read: “Refugees welcome, stop the far right.”
The Metropolitan Police said a large cordon was formed between the two groups and the hotel, and later confirmed that no arrests were made.
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Abolish Asylum System protests were also held in Altrincham, Bournemouth, Cheshunt, Chichester, Dudley, Leeds, Canary Wharf, Portsmouth, Rhoose, Rugby, Southampton and Wolverhampton.
Image: Protesters outside the Holiday Inn Central, Ashford, Kent. Pic: PA
Tensions around the use of the hotels for asylum seekers are at a high after statistics showed there were more than 32,000 asylum seekers currently staying in hotels, marking a rise of 8% during Labour’s first year in office.
Regular protests had been held outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which started after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl on 10 July.
Image: Police officers separate people taking part in the Stand Up To Racism rally and counter protesters in Orpington. Pic: PA
Farage vows ‘mass deportations’ if elected
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has told The Times there would be “mass deportations” of illegal immigrants if Reform UK wins the next general election, vowing to remove the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights and other international agreements to facilitate five deportation flights a day.
When asked by the newspaper whether that would include Afghan nationals at risk of torture or death, he said: “I’m really sorry, but we can’t be responsible for everything that happens in the whole of the world.
“Who is our priority? Is it the safety and security of this country and its people? Or are we worrying about everybody else and foreign courts?”
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0:22
Asylum hotel closures ‘must be done in ordered way’
Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum Angela Eagle said in response that the Reform UK leader is “simply plucking numbers out of the air, another pie in the sky policy from a party that will say anything for a headline”.
She added: “This Labourgovernment has substantially increased returns with 35,000 people removed from the country in the last year alone, a huge increase on the last government.
“We are getting a grip of the broken asylum system. Making sure those with no right to be here are removed or deported.”
Labourhas pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this parliament in 2029.
ConservativeMP and shadow home secretary Chris Philp also accused Reform UK of recycling Tory ideas on immigration.
“Nigel Farage previously claimed mass deportations were impossible, and now he says it’s his policy,” he added. “Who knows what he’ll say next.”
Home Office stops Norfolk hotel
It comes after South Norfolk Council said it had been told that the Home Office intends to stop housing asylum seekers at the Park Hotel in the town of Diss – which has also seen demonstrations over the last month.
Protests broke out there after officials said they would send single men to the hotel rather than women and children. The hotel’s operator had warned it would close if the change was implemented.
A Home Office spokesperson said on Friday that “we are not planning to use this site beyond the end of the current contract”.
In response, Conservative council leader Daniel Elmer said: “The Home Office thought it could just impose this change and that we would accept it.
“But there is a right way of doing things and a wrong way, and the decision by the Home Office was just plain wrong.”
He added that while “I welcome the decision, in reality it does mean that the women and children who we fought so hard to protect will now be moved elsewhere, and that is a shame”.
“The government isn’t listening to the public or to the courts,” said Tory shadow home secretary Chris Philp.
The politics is certainly difficult.
Government sources are alive to that fact, even accusing the Tory-led Epping Council of “playing politics” by launching the legal challenge in the first place.
That’s why ministers are trying to emphasise that closing the Bell Hotel is a matter of when, not if.
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1:24
What do migration statistics tell us?
“We’ve made a commitment that we will close all of the asylum hotels by the end of this parliament, but we need to do that in a managed and ordered way”, said the security minister Dan Jarvis.
The immediate problem for the Home Office is the same one that caused hotels to be used in the first place.
There are vanishingly few accommodation options.
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0:22
Asylum hotel closures ‘must be done in ordered way
Labour has moved away from using old military sites.
That’s despite one RAF base in Essex – which Sir Keir Starmer had promised to close – seeing an increase in the number of migrants being housed.
Back in June, the immigration minister told MPs that medium-sized sites like disused tower blocks, old teacher training colleges or redundant student accommodation could all be used.
Until 2023, regular residential accommodation was relied on.
But getting hold of more flats and houses could be practically and politically difficult, given shortages of homes and long council waiting lists.
All of this is why previous legal challenges made by councils have ultimately failed.
The government has a legal duty to house asylum seekers at risk of destitution, so judges have tended to decide that blocking off the hotel option runs the risk of causing ministers to act unlawfully.
So to return to the previous question.
Yes, the government may well have walked into a political trap here.