Rishi Sunak declares ‘golden era’ between UK and China is over

Published

2 years ago

November 29, 2022

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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.

‘Utterly extraordinary scenes’ as protesters shout ‘down with China’ – live protest updates

“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.

“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.

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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.

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.

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”.

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”.

And just hours after meeting Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska in Downing Street, he said there should be no doubt the UK “will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes”.

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.”

UK

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield quits Labour – criticising Sir Keir Starmer in resignation letter

Published

2 hours ago

September 28, 2024

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Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield quits Labour - criticising Sir Keir Starmer in resignation letter

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.

The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.

She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.

In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.

“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.

Sir Keir has faced backlash after a Sky News report revealed he had received substantially more freebies than any other MP since becoming Labour leader.

Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.

Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.

She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.

“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.

“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”

Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.

Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.

“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.

Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.

UK

King Charles hails ‘uniquely special’ Scotland as it marks Holyrood milestone – before being hugged by woman

Published

2 hours ago

September 28, 2024

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King Charles hails 'uniquely special' Scotland as it marks Holyrood milestone - before being hugged by woman

The King has paid tribute to Scotland as a “uniquely special place” for the Royal Family as he marked the 25th anniversary of the Scottish parliament.

At the ceremony to commemorate a quarter of a century since parliament opened at Holyrood, the King said: “Speaking from a personal perspective, Scotland has always had a uniquely special place in the hearts of my family and myself.

“My beloved grandmother was proudly Scottish, my late mother especially treasured the time spent at Balmoral, and it was there in the most beloved of places, where she chose to spend her final days.”

He said we are all “united by our love of Scotland”, paying tribute to its “natural beauty”, “strength of character”, “diversity of its people”, “passions and frequently deeply held beliefs”.

“From the central belt to the north Highlands, across the islands in Ayrshire, in the Borders, the cities, towns and villages, all the coastal communities, who I wonder, could not fail to be moved by this complex Caledonian kaleidoscope?,” he asked as presiding officer Alison Johnstone and the Queen sat beside him.

After he gave the speech, the King was hugged by a member of the public – who said she did so “because of him being unwell”.

The 75-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in February but has since returned to public duties.

Yvonne Macmillan, 59, from East Renfrewshire, attended the anniversary ceremony with her husband Russell who is registered blind and chosen as a “local hero” for work in their area.

“I asked him if he was feeling better and if I could give him a hug. I actually said to him: ‘Can I hug you?’,” she said.

“As I hugged him I said, ‘God bless you’, so it was like God giving him a hug.”

While Sir Tony Blair’s Labour government legislated for Scottish devolution in 1997 – parliament officially opened at Holyrood on 1 July 1999.

The King has made six visits to the parliament since 1999 – while his mother Queen Elizabeth II made 10 visits during her lifetime.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney is one of a number of MSPs who have been at Holyrood since the start of devolution.

He said in his own speech in Edinburgh on Saturday that the parliament has “placed itself at the very heart of the nation”, describing it as a “vessel of enlightenment, invention and creativity”.

The SNP’s Christine Grahame is another MSP who has been there since the start.

“Free tuition, free prescriptions, game-changing policies to tackle child poverty, the ban on smoking, the baby box, ScotRail back in public ownership – none of this would have been possible without the Scottish parliament and the strength of our commitment to self-determination,” she said on Saturday.

The King said the devolved parliament has the ability to “touch and to improve the lives of so many individuals”.

But he added that “there remains much more to be done” for Scotland, the rest of the UK, particularly with regards to climate change.

“Let this moment therefore be the beginning of the next chapter,” he told those assembled.

“The achievement of the past and the commitment shown in the present give us the soundest basis for confidence in the future.”

UK

Phone thief caught red-handed hours after snatching device from woman’s hand in Croydon

Published

2 hours ago

September 28, 2024

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Phone thief caught red-handed hours after snatching device from woman's hand in Croydon

A moped riding phone thief was caught red-handed after police tracked the device down hours after he snatched it from a woman’s hand.

CCTV footage released by police showed a masked moped rider mount the pavement in Croydon, south London, to swipe a phone from a woman’s hand on 6 March, while another victim had theirs stolen while they waited for a bus an hour later.

Amari Scott, 20, looked surprised when confronted by officers inside a shop, where he was found with two mobile phones.

“We’ve just had a moped rob a mobile phone off the pavement and the phone is pinging in this location,” one of the officers told him in body-worn camera footage before Scott was handcuffed and led away.

Police also recovered a stolen motorbike and Scott, from Sutton, south London, was later jailed for four years.

Two teenagers who committed four robberies in the space of just half an hour were also arrested as part of a crackdown in Croydon.

Aged 16 and 17, the teens were issued with referral orders after pleading guilty to charges of robbery, attempted robbery and attempted grievous bodily harm.

They were behind a spree of eight robberies across Croydon and nearby Bromley, including four within 30 minutes on the morning of 5 August.

Their crimes, which included the knife point robbery of a rough sleeper outside Croydon library, were caught on CCTV.

One of the teenagers tried to discard a knife before she was arrested after a foot chase, telling officers: “The knife wasn’t mine”.

The other ran away, leaving a knife and his bag, but was lying in bed at home when he was arrested shortly after.

The Metropolitan Police said officers are intensifying efforts to tackle robbery and theft, encouraging victims to report incidents as they happen to increase the chances of catching the criminals.

Chief Inspector James Weston said: “We understand the impact that robbery has on victims – it is invasive and frightening.

“That’s why our teams are working so hard to deter and catch offenders to reassure our local community.

“Thanks to the hard work of officers, our partners and community grassroots organisations, we are stepping up our efforts and tackling the issues that matter most to the people of Croydon.”