James Cleverly defends first China trip by foreign secretary in five years as MPs call for openness on policy

Published

2 years ago

August 30, 2023

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The foreign secretary has insisted “diplomacy makes a difference” as he meets senior members of the Chinese government in Beijing – despite questions back home over his party’s approach to the country.

The officials James Cleverly is meeting include foreign affairs minister Wang Yi and vice president Han Zheng and he is expected to discuss issues ranging from climate change to international security in what is the first visit to China by a UK foreign secretary in more than five years.

Politics live: Cleverly meets top Chinese officials in landmark trip

But it comes amid a rift in the Conservatives over whether the government should take a tougher stance on Beijing, with former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith going as far as comparing the current approach to the appeasement of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

After meeting Mr Zheng early on Wednesday morning, Mr Cleverly told reporters his visit was about “making sure we are able to speak regularly about bilateral issues – both the areas where we disagree but also areas where we need to cooperate [such as] the fight against climate change”, as well as making sure China understands the UK’s core positions.

“[China] is an important country, it is a large country, an influential country, and a complicated country, and therefore our relationship with China will necessarily be just as complicated and sophisticated,” added the foreign secretary.

“We are clear-eyed about the areas where we have fundamental disagreements with China and I raise those issues when we meet, but I think it is important we also recognise that we have to have a pragmatic sensible working relationship with China because of the issues that affect us all around the globe.

“So, of course, we will pursue a pragmatic working relationship, but that does of course mean raising the issues where we disagree when we have the opportunity to do so.”

Asked if words in meetings would be enough to spark change, Mr Cleverly replied: “Diplomacy makes a difference, that’s why it exists, that is why it is a function of international relations that has endured for centuries.

“Regular face-to-face discussions, where you can raise those issues where we disagree directly, unambiguously, without being filtered through media, are incredibly important.

“I am clear-eyed… that we are not going to change China overnight and we are certainly not going to do it in one individual meeting. But it is important that we maintain regular dialogue.”

‘Confusion across Whitehall’ on China

Mr Cleverly’s trip comes on the same day MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee called for an unclassified strategy on China that does not just deal with trade and security, but also diplomatic engagement, human rights and technological cooperation.

The committee’s 87-page report is in response to the “Tilt to the Indo-Pacific” announced in the Integrated Review of 2021, in which the government identified Russia as an “active threat” and China as a “systemic challenge”.

But the committee’s report said there was “confusion across Whitehall” about the new policy focus, arising from a “failure to explain” it.

Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the committee, told Sky News the government’s current China strategy was “at the highest possible security level”.

“That means that some government ministers have not even seen it,” she added. “So I question how you can have a comprehensive cross-government strategy where ministers themselves don’t know what they’re working towards.”

Ms Kearns said there was “big uncertainty” for the business community and academics, leaving them “unsure of the boundaries between caution and collaboration” with China.

“Now, the Chinese Communist Party are very explicit on what they’re seeking to achieve, and they are therefore exploiting this uncertainty, which is why we have to end it for the publication of an unclassified China strategy,” she said.

In the report, the chair also described Taiwan – which fears an invasion by China – as an “important ally and partner of the UK” and urged the government to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with the island and make clear that attempts to undermine its self-determination were “unacceptable”.

‘China cannot be ignored’

Responding to the report, a government spokesperson said the Integrated Review refresh “outlines clearly and in detail our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific”.

They said Mr Cleverly had set out the China strategy too, “including strengthening our national security protections and engaging where it is in the UK’s interests to do so – that is what he is now doing during his trip to China”.

The spokesperson added: “We are reviewing the report’s findings in detail and will respond in due course.”

The visit signals a further move in government policy to engage with Beijing, despite ongoing calls from Tory MPs – some of whom have been sanctioned by China – to take a harder line on the country’s activities, especially when it comes to human rights violations.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has already softened his language – moving from calling China “the biggest long-term threat to Britain” in his leadership campaign last summer, to instead saying the UK should stand up to China “with robust pragmatism”.

But his predecessor in Number 10, Liz Truss, has criticised the direction of travel and called for a more robust approach, saying in a speech earlier this year that French President Emmanuel Macron’s own visit to China was “a sign of weakness”, and Western governments had been “appeasing” the autocratic regime.

Ms Kearns didn’t criticise the foreign secretary’s trip, saying it was “more important James Cleverly is in the room vociferously disagreeing with them” and backed the idea of Mr Sunak meeting with Chinese President Xi at the upcoming G20 summit.

‘Chop and change’ should end

Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds said the UK needed “a far more strategic approach towards China”, telling Sky News: “The Chinese leadership always takes a long-term approach when it comes to their interests, but as a country over the last 13 years, we’ve really not had a strategic approach towards China… We need to have that longer term approach.”

Asked if she would be happy for Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy to make the trip to Beijing, Ms Dodds said: “There needs to be engagement, but it can’t be ad hoc.”

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Watchdog criticises ‘unprecedented’ government offer to delay local elections – as five councils confirm requests for postponement

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

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Watchdog criticises 'unprecedented' government offer to delay local elections – as five councils confirm requests for postponement

The elections watchdog has criticised the government for offering to consider delaying 63 local council elections next year – as five authorities confirmed to Sky News that they would ask for a postponement.

On Thursday, hours before parliament began its Christmas recess, the government revealed that councils were being sent a letter asking if they thought elections should be delayed in their areas due to challenges around delivering local government reorganisation plans.

The chief executive of the Electoral Commission, Vijay Rangarajan, hit out at the announcement on Friday, saying he was “concerned” that some elections could be postponed, with some having already been deferred from 2025.

“We are disappointed by both the timing and substance of the statement. Scheduled elections should, as a rule, go ahead as planned, and only be postponed in exceptional circumstances,” he said in a statement.

“Decisions on any postponements will not be taken until mid-January, less than three months before the scheduled May 2026 elections are due to begin.

“This uncertainty is unprecedented and will not help campaigners and administrators who need time to prepare for their important roles.”

Mr Rangarajan added: “We very much recognise the pressures on local government, but these late changes do not help administrators. Parties and candidates have already been preparing for some time, and will be understandably concerned.”

He said “capacity constraints” were not a “legitimate reason for delaying long planned elections”, which risked “affecting the legitimacy of local decision-making and damaging public confidence”.

The watchdog chief also said there was “a clear conflict of interest in asking existing councils to decide how long it will be before they are answerable to voters”.

Sky News contacted the 63 councils that have been sent the letter about potentially delaying their elections.

At the time of publication, 17 authorities had replied with their decisions, while 33 said they would make up their minds before the government’s deadline of 15 January.

Many councils told Sky News they were surprised at yesterday’s announcement, saying that they had been fully intending to hold their polls as scheduled.

They said they were now working to understand the appropriate democratic mechanism for deciding whether to request a postponement of elections. Some local authorities believe it should be a decision made by their full council, while others will leave it up to council leaders or cabinet members to decide.

Multiple councils also emphasised in statements to Sky News that the ultimate decision to delay elections lay with the government.

Reform UK has threatened legal action against ministers, accusing Labour and the Tories of “colluding” to postpone elections in order to lock other parties out of power – a sentiment echoed by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey.

But shadow local government secretary Sir James Cleverly told Sky News this morning that the Conservative Party “wants these elections to go ahead”. Sky News understands that the national party is making that position clear to local leaders.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government, said it was taking a “locally-led approach”, and emphasised that “councils are in the best position to judge the impact of postponements on their area”.

They added: “These are exceptional circumstances where councils have told us they’re struggling to prepare for resource-intensive elections to councils that will shortly be abolished, while also reorganising into more efficient authorities that can better serve local residents.

“There is a clear precedent for postponing local elections where local government reorganisation is in progress, as happened in 2019 and 2022.”

The five councils that confirmed they would be seeking postponements were:

Blackburn with Darwen Council (Labour);
Chorley Borough Council (Labour);
East Sussex County Council (Conservative minority);
Hastings Borough Council (Green minority);
West Sussex County Council (Conservative).

The councils in Chorley, and East and West Sussex, had decided prior to Thursday’s government announcement that they would request a delay.

An East Sussex County Council spokesperson told Sky News: “It is welcome that the government is listening to local leaders and has heard the case for focussing our resources on delivery in East Sussex, particularly with devolution and reorganisation of local government, as well as delivering services to residents, such high priorities.”

They also pointed to the cost of electing councillors for a term of just one year, and argued that it would be “more prudent for just one set of elections to be held in 2027”.

West Sussex County Council echoed those reasons and said it would cost taxpayers across the county £9m to hold elections in 2026, 2027, and 2028, as currently planned.

Chorley and Blackburn councils also cited the cost of delivering elections, and said they would prefer that money be spent on delivering the local government reorganisation and delivering services to local residents.

Meanwhile, 12 councils confirmed to Sky News that they would not be requesting delays:

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (Liberal Democrat-Independents);
Broxbourne Borough Council (Conservative);
Colchester City Council (Labour-Liberal Democrat);
Eastleigh Borough Council (Liberal Democrat);
Essex County Council (Conservative);
Hart District Council (Liberal Democrat-Community Campaign);
Hastings Borough Council (Green minority);
Isle of Wight Council (no overall control);
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council (Conservative);
Portsmouth City Council (Liberal Democrat minority);
Rushmoor Borough Council (Labour minority);
Southampton City Council (Labour).

Politics

Samourai co-founder claims Biden-era lawfare in calling for Trump pardon

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

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Samourai co-founder claims Biden-era lawfare in calling for Trump pardon

Keonne Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty to one felony count related to his role at Samourai Wallet, is calling on US President Donald Trump to pardon him, citing similar language that has been successful in previous pardon applications.

In a Thursday X post, Rodriguez said he would report to prison on Friday, where he will serve a five-year sentence for operating an illegal money transmitter. The Samourai co-founder claimed there were no “victims” to his crime, and blamed his incarceration on “lawfare perpetrated by a weaponized Biden DOJ.”

In a message tagging Trump, Rodriguez expressed hope that the US president would issue a federal pardon for him and William “Bill” Lonergan Hill, another Samourai executive who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years. Rodriguez blamed “activist judges” for his legal troubles, claiming he was targeted by a “political anti-innovation agenda.”

“I maintain hope that [Trump] is a fair man, a man of the people, who will see this prosecution for what it was: an anti innovation, anti american, attack on the rights and liberties of free people,” said Rodriguez. “I believe his team […] and others truly want to end the weaponization of the DOJ that the previous administration wielded so effectively […] I believe he will continue to wield that power for good and pardon me and Bill.”

Bitcoin Wallet, Law, Politics, Court, Crimes, Donald Trump — *Source:* *Keonne Rodriguez*

Rodriguez’s public plea followed Trump’s statement that he would “take a look” at a pardon for the Samourai co-founder, claiming that he had no knowledge of the case. It’s unclear whether Rodriguez filed an official application for a pardon or is relying on public statements to get the president’s attention.

Other crypto execs successfully lobbied for a Trump pardon

One of Trump’s first acts as president in January was to issue a pardon for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who had been serving a life sentence for his role in creating and operating the darknet marketplace.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who pleaded guilty to one felony in 2023 related to the exchange’s Anti-Money Laundering program, served four months in prison but also received a pardon from the president. Trump later said he “[knew] nothing about” Zhao when asked about the pardon in a November interview.

Rodriguez’s language addressing Trump mirrored comments from the White House on previous pardons. For example, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was a “weaponization of justice from the previous administration” when the president commuted the sentence of David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding “thousands of individual investors in a $1.6 billion” scheme in 2024.