China should not be described as a ‘foe’ – but is a ‘challenge’, says Kemi Badenoch
China should not be described as a “foe” or a “threat” but it should be regarded as a “challenge”, a cabinet minister has said – following allegations a Chinese spy infiltrated parliament.
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the claims were an “extremely serious concern” but we “shouldn’t be using language that makes people scared”.
It comes after two men were arrested under the Official Secrets Act amid reports a parliamentary researcher spied for China.
The researcher, who is in his 20s, is understood to have had links to security minister Tom Tugendhat, foreign affairs committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns and other senior Tory MPs.
The incident has thrown a spotlight on the government’s stance towards China.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to adopt a more diplomatic stance towards the country than some of the more hawkish members of his cabinet and party, who want China to be officially classified as a threat.
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Asked whether China should be described as a threat, Ms Badenoch told Sky News: “I would define it as a challenge.
“I define China as a challenge because certainly from my job as business secretary working on international trade in particular, we see at international level just how significant China is, impacting the economies of countries all around the world.
“I was at the G20 two weeks ago – there were significant difficulties between China and Japan. There were difficult conversations between China and India. So I think across the world, China is becoming a very, very significant challenge.”
Pressed on whether China should be described as a “friend or a foe”, she replied: “We certainly should not be describing China as a foe – but we can describe it as a challenge.
“I don’t think we should be careless in terms of how we speak about other countries when these sorts of things happen.”
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The business secretary rejected suggestions the government was “putting our safety behind the possibility of trade deals”, saying: “Well first of all, we are certainly not doing any trade deals with China.”
She said the UK’s approach is “the same as our allies in the US, Canada, Australia” and the UK is “not doing anything that’s out of the ordinary”.
“Obviously, Chinese people are different from the Chinese government and it is important to be diplomatic,” she said.
“We shouldn’t be using language that makes people scared. We need to be giving them confidence, and I’m very confident in our security services and in the work that the government is doing on economic security and investment screening.”
Mr Sunak met Chinese premier Li Qiang, who is attending the G20 summit in India in place of President Xi Jinping, on the fringes of the gathering’s final session on Sunday morning, where he said he raised his “very strong concern” about interference with parliamentary democracy which was “obviously unacceptable”.
It was the “right approach” to talk face-to -face with China’s premier, he said.
“Where there are areas of disagreement… I’d rather be in the room directly expressing my concerns, and that’s what I did today.”
The arrests were made in March and first revealed by The Sunday Times. Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, which oversees espionage-related offences, are investigating.
Ms Badenoch said it was “significant” the prime minister raised the issue with the Chinese premier this weekend.
“He spoke about his very serious concerns and that’s why it’s important to be able to have the engagement so that you can speak face-to-face and say exactly what it is that we think, in a way that will have an impact,” she added.
The Chinese embassy in London issued a statement yesterday in which it described this incident as “completely fabricated” and “nothing but a malicious slander”. It urged Britain’s lawmakers to “stop anti-China political manipulation”.
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Labour’s shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, claimed security services warned about the dangers of spying “some time ago”.
She pointed to the “damning” report from the security and intelligence committee in July which said the government had “no strategy” to deal with China.
“We think there has to be a comprehensive strategy towards the risks, the challenges, and the threats from other states to our national security,” she said.
Asked if she believed China was a friend or foe, she said: “Well, the relationship is clearly complex.
“There are serious issues around the human rights abuses in China. There are serious issues around their approach and their role across the world. And we also have this trading relationship, as we’ve seen the rise of China. We have to deal with that. But in particular, we have to make sure we protect our own national security. That has to come first.”
Farmers forced the prime minister to cut short a visit to a housing development as they drove tractors to the site in a protest against changes to inheritance tax.
Sir Keir Starmer was in Buckinghamshire to announce more than 100 new towns could be built under the government’s plans for the “largest house building programme since the post-war era”.
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As he spoke to workers at a housing development in Milton Keynes, a group of farmers gathered in about a dozen tractors outside the site.
They sounded musical horns, disrupting the announcement shortly after Sir Keir arrived.
The prime minister cut the visit short following the protest, driving off before he was set to do media interviews.
Farmers stage a demonstration during Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to a housing development in Buckinghamshire. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Farmers have staged several protests since the October budget, when the government introduced a 20% inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1m from April 2026.
They have accused the government of failing to listen to them and said the tax will mean some will have to sell off land or their entire farms to pay for it, which could affect food production.
The prime minister was still in high-vis clothing when he returned to Downing Street. Pic: PA
Sir Keir later said his government had made a “political choice” to grow the economy and bring NHS waiting lists down instead of maintaining “the tax break for farmers”.
“People watching this will understand that that is a choice. They will know what they would prefer,” he said.
“Do they want their waiting lists to come down, do they want their mortgages to come down, the economy to start working for everyone?
“That is what we are trying to achieve.
“Or do we want to give tax breaks for farmers? We can’t have both.”
Keir Starmer cut short his visit to a housing development in Buckinghamshire. Pic: PA
Farmer Phillip Weston told Sky News’ Dan Whitehead at the protest: “He’s not coming to us to talk, so we’re coming to him.”
As Sir Keir was driven away from the site, farmers could be heard shouting “just talk to us”.
Farmer Richard Miles, who travelled from Welford, Northamptonshire, said: “We are not being listened to at all, that’s why we feel we have to come and see him in person.”
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A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “Thames Valley Police facilitated a peaceful protest off the A509 and liaised with the protesters at the scene.
“Officers from the local policing team engaged with the protesters.
“No arrests were made or necessary. The protest has reached its conclusion and the group are now dispersing from the area.”
Politics
What is the loophole that allowed a family in Gaza permission to come to UK on a Ukraine resettlement scheme?
A “loophole” that allowed a Palestinian family to be granted the right to come to the UK under a Ukrainian resettlement scheme was the subject of a lot of debate in the House of Commons today.
Both the prime minister and leader of the opposition criticised a decision by a judge to allow the family of six the right to enter the UK.
Sir Keir pledged to close the “loophole” after he was asked about it by Kemi Badenoch – but could not elaborate on what it was.
Sky News has read through the judgment given by Judge Hugo Norton-Taylor to understand what happened.
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Why did the family apply?
The family of six, a husband and wife and their children aged 18, 17, eight and seven, lived in Gaza and their homes were destroyed after the 7 October attacks and subsequent conflict.
They ended up living in a humanitarian zone and then a refugee camp.
In January 2024, the family applied to come to the UK via the Ukraine Family Scheme form, in a bid to join one of the parent’s brothers, who is a British citizen and has lived in the UK since 2007.
While they acknowledged they were not eligible for the Ukraine scheme, the family chose to apply in an attempt to use the Home Office‘s policy on “applications for entry clearance outside the rules”.
The Home Office rejected the request, saying they were not satisfied there were “compelling, compassionate circumstances” to justify a request outside the rules.
They also noted the lack of a resettlement scheme for Palestinians.
Read more:
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Palestinian family allowed to settle in UK
The appeals
Despite the Home Office saying there were no grounds to appeal, the family launched one against the decision on human rights grounds.
A judge then ruled that the initial rejection constituted a rejection of human rights, and so allowed an appeal.
Part of this appeal was under Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights – the right to a family life between the man living in Britain and his family in Gaza.
This appeal was rejected, with a lack of a Palestinian resettlement scheme noted as a reason.
An appeal was launched at a higher tribunal – and one of the arguments was that the case should be considered on its own merits and not allow the lack of a Palestinian resettlement scheme to outweigh other arguments.
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The loophole
It is here that the “loophole” seems to have appeared.
At this point. Judge Norton-Taylor heard the case and allowed the appeal.
In his judgment, he stated that it was “wrong to have taken the absence of a resettlement scheme into account at all”.
The judge added that there was “no evidence” he had seen that the Home Office had made a deliberate decision not to implement a Palestinian resettlement scheme.
He also noted that the lack of immigration rules on a topic should not count against someone.
In layman’s terms, the argument seems to be that just because a scheme to resettle people does not exist it does not mean they are banned from coming to the UK via humanitarian routes.
The judgment said the absence of a “resettlement scheme was irrelevant” to their decision.
What next?
Judge Norton-Taylor went on to back the claim from the family in Gaza based on the ECHR and the right to a family life between them and their relative in Britain.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Ukraine Family scheme was clearly set out for Ukrainians. We have been clear that we do not agree with this judgment and we twice vigorously contested this case.
“As the prime minister made clear, article 8, the right to a family life, should be interpreted much more narrowly. It is for the government and Parliament to decide who should be covered by the UK’s safe and legal routes.
“We are pursuing all legal avenues to address the legal loophole which has been exploited in this case. The home secretary is urgently reviewing this case to ensure the correct processes are always followed and existing laws correctly interpreted.”
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They added that there was no evidence to support the argument and that data from the government shows a “very small” number of Gazans have been allowed to enter the UK – equal to roughly 150.
Sir Keir said he was planning to close the loophole, but it is not clear what this will entail.
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