Rishi Sunak defends UK approach to China as ‘more robust’ than EU allies following criticism

Published

2 years ago

March 26, 2024

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The UK’s approach to China is “more robust” than its allies, Rishi Sunak has claimed, as he continues to face calls to use more aggressive language to describe Beijing in the wake of two cyberattacks.

The prime minister said suggestions the government was not taking strong action against China were “completely and utterly wrong”.

Mr Sunak defended the government’s stance towards China while appearing at the Liaison Committee on Tuesday afternoon, where he faced questions from parliament’s select committee chairs.

Business and Trade Committee chair Liam Byrne challenged Mr Sunak that where allies acted on China, the UK was merely “thinking about it”.

But Mr Sunak claimed such an assertion was false, saying: “Our approach to China is undoubtedly more robust than, I’d say, most of our allies, in fact, actually.

Politics live: Rishi Sunak asked if he’s part of ‘the deep state’ after Truss claims

“I am entirely confident that our approach to dealing with the risk that China poses is very much in line with our allies and in most cases goes further in protecting ourselves.”

Mr Sunak’s appearance at the committee came after the government blamed China “state-affiliated actors” for two “malicious” cyberattack campaigns in the UK.

Two incidents

Making a speech in the Commons, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden revealed the two incidents involved an attack in 2021 on the Electoral Commission – responsible for overseeing elections and political finance – alongside targeted attacks against China-sceptic MPs.

According to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the incident at the commission, discovered in 2022, saw the Electoral Roll compromised, including the names and addresses of tens of millions of voters.

But “reconnaissance activity” in 2021, targeting the accounts of former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Conservative education minister Tim Loughton, crossbench peer Lord Alton of Liverpool and SNP MP Stewart McDonald was unsuccessful.

Are these MPs really parliament’s best interrogators?

Jon Craig

Chief political correspondent

@joncraig

Job done. The prime minister will be pleased with how that went. No news. No gaffes. And not too tetchy. To be blunt, it was dull.

The highlights were Mr Sunak’s clashes with Labour’s Dame Diana Johnson and the SNP’s Joana Cherry on the government’s Rwanda policy.

He didn’t like it when Ms Cherry asked if he was proud of telling Tory MPs to vote against preventing Afghans who supported British forces in Afghanistan from being deported to Rwanda.

The closest Mr Sunak came to making news was in his comments on the two big foreign stories of this week: the UN Israel-Hamas ceasefire vote and Chinese cyber-hacking.

He stressed the need for more aid into Gaza and agreed with Tory MP Stephen Crabb that the UN ceasefire resolution perhaps ought to have included criticism of Hamas.

And on China, he claimed the UK’s approach was more robust tan other countries, prompting a clash with Labour’s Liam Byrne, who disputed that claim.

To be fair, he did confirm that the public could “safely assume” the pensions triple-lock would remain in place throughout the next parliament if the Tories win the election.

But that was as good as it got. The prime minister even had the brass neck to say he deplored leaks when asked about reports about the chancellor’s national insurance cut ahead of this month’s budget.

The session had begun with the gentlest of questions from former Treasury minister Harriet Baldwin, who asked: “How’s the economic strategy going?” It was so bland it could have been a planted question.

And the hearing ended with a rambling chat with committee chairman Sir Bernard Jenkin about reforming parliament to encourage more young people to engage in politics. That got nowhere.

In just over 90 minutes, the prime minister got off extremely lightly. If these are parliament’s best interrogators, Mr Sunak can rest easy as he begins his Easter break.

The government has said the attack on parliamentarians was carried out by the APT31 – a “China state-affiliated” group but less is known about who bears responsibility for the attack on the commission

However, the NCSC says it is “highly likely compromised by a China state-affiliated cyber entity”.

‘Like an elephant giving birth to a mouse’

Mr Dowden announced sanctions against a front company, Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company, and two individuals, Zhao Guangzong and Ni Gaobin, who are linked to APT31.

But the response was immediately met with derision from Tory MPs, including Sir Iain, who said Mr Dowden’s statement was “like an elephant giving birth to a mouse”.

MPs within Mr Sunak’s party have urged him to upgrade the UK assessment of China from an “epoch-defining challenge” to a “threat” – something Mr Dowden suggested could be on the cards.

During the Liaison Committee session the prime minister highlighted how the UK had removed Huawei equipment from their telecommunications networks while European allies had not, and said the EU had not placed restrictions on exports of sensitive technology to China.

He also argued that the UK was less dependent on China for trade than Australia, Korea, Japan, the US, and Germany and that there was a security agency dedicated to helping companies manage threats from states over espionage and IP threats.

China denial

China has firmly denied responsibility for the attacks and has accused the UK of “outright political manipulation”.

A spokesman said the UK had “falsely accused China of attempting to interfere with UK democracy”.

“We strongly urge the UK to immediately stop spreading false information about China, stop such self-staged, anti-China farces, and refrain from going further down the wrong path that leads only to failure.”

Politics

Labour dealt historic loss in Caerphilly by-election – as Plaid Cymru win seat

Published

1 hour ago

October 24, 2025

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Labour dealt historic loss in Caerphilly by-election - as Plaid Cymru win seat

Plaid Cymru have won the by-election in the Senedd seat of Caerphilly for the first time.

The Welsh nationalist party secured 15,960 votes – and candidate Lindsay Whittle cried as the result was announced.

Mr Whittle is 72 years old and had stood as a Plaid candidate 13 times since 1983. He will now hold the seat until the Senedd elections next year.

This by-election was widely regarded as a two-horse race between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK, and the result marks a considerable blow for Nigel Farage.

Analysis: Reform candidate looked neglected and dejected

Jon Craig

Chief political correspondent

@joncraig

In a by-election in the birthplace of the comedian Tommy Cooper, it was Plaid Cymru that had the last laugh.

During the campaign, Nigel Farage and Reform UK’s candidate Llyr Powell had posed for photos in front of the statue of the legendary comic in Caerphilly.

But when the result was declared at 2.10am at the count in the town’s leisure centre, Mr Farage – who’d been campaigning for Mr Powell on polling day – was nowhere to be seen.

In fact, the joke among Plaid supporters at the count was that long before the declaration Mr Farage was halfway down the M4 on his way back to London.

Read Jon’s full analysis here.

His candidate Llyr Powell received 12,113 votes – denying a victory that would have strengthened claims that Reform can convert a large lead in opinion polls into election wins.

Nonetheless, the party’s performance is a marked improvement on 2021, when it received just 495 votes.

More than anything, the result is a humiliating and historic defeat for Labour, who had held Caerphilly at every Senedd election since it was created in 1999 – as well as the Westminster seat for over a century.

Its candidate Richard Tunnicliffe secured 3,713 votes and finished in third place, with Welsh Labour describing it as a “by-election in the toughest of circumstances, and in the midst of difficult headwinds nationally”.

Turnout overall stood at 50.43% – considerably higher than during the last ballot back in 2021.

Giving his acceptance speech after the result was confirmed, Mr Whittle described how he had been “absolutely heartened” by how many young people were involved in the by-election – and said the result sends a clear message.

He said: “Listen now Cardiff and listen Westminster – this is Caerphilly and Wales telling you we want a better deal for every corner of Wales. The big parties need to sit up and take notice.

“Wales, we are at the dawn of new leadership, we are at the dawn of a new beginning – and I look forward to playing my part for a new Wales, and in particular, for the people of the Caerphilly constituency. I thank you with all my heart.”

Mr Whittle quipped Plaid’s victory “was better than scoring the winning try for Wales in the Rugby World Cup”.

And looking ahead to the next year’s elections, he added: “[This] result shows what’s possible when people come together to back practical solutions and protect what matters most.

“We’ve beaten billionaire-backed Reform and, with the same determination, we can do it again in May 2026. Caerphilly has shown the way – now Wales must follow.”

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth told Sky News his party’s victory is the “start of a reset of politics in Wales”.

He said Plaid’s goal is to take over the Senedd for the first time in May next year.

“I want to see that through now. I’ve made it clear, said it in my conference speech a couple of weeks ago, we have to replace Labour,” he said.

“And it’s not just for its own sake, it’s so we get better outcomes for Wales. That’s what Plaid Cymru’s always about.”

Labour minister labels result ‘disappointing’

Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News that “frustrations” with the “pace of change” led to Labour’s loss.

“I’m not shying away from, how disappointing the result is,” he said.

“What I found on the doorsteps was a real desire for more change, a frustration about the pace of change. That was coming through to me very strongly when I was speaking to people, I think that’s been reflected in the result.”

Labour’s deputy first minister in the Senedd, Huw Irranca-Davies, said the prime minister must “get back to bread and butter things” such as the cost of living, instead of focussing on immigration.

“We’ve got to get better,” he said.

“If it turns out as we think, as the polls have shown tonight, after a really good campaign with a really good Labour candidate in Richard, then we’ve got to talk about how do we get back to bread and butter things: cost of living, the state of the local community, the high street, the green spaces, the money in people’s pockets.

“And that’s a task for both Welsh Labour and UK Labour as well.”

First Minister Eluned Morgan congratulated Mr Whittle on his return to the Senedd and said: “We take our share of the responsibility for this result. We are listening, we are learning the lessons, and we will be come back stronger.”

Reform’s chair David Bull suggested the party’s strong performance in the polls cost them the by-election to Plaid Cymru.

“I actually think the problem for us was the MRP poll, which was released two or three days ago,” he told Sky News.

“It showed us on 42%, Plaid on 38%, and it changed some people’s minds. I’ve heard tales from Lib Dem supporters, even Tories, actually voting tactically for Plaid to keep us out.”

Nigel Farage added that Reform’s candidate lost to “a party that people know well and to a popular local politician”.

“The Senedd elections next year are a two-horse race between Reform UK and Plaid Cymru,” he said.

The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats were among the parties that lost their deposits.