Sir Keir Starmer defends China policy after spy scandal
Sir Keir Starmer said he is “concerned” about the challenge China poses in his first comments on an alleged spy with links to Prince Andrew who has been barred from the UK.
Speaking from a press conference in Norway, the prime minister said he could not comment on whether the government has discussed the situation with Buckingham Palace.
He said that there is “a long-standing convention” in the UK that talks between Downing Street and the royal family are “never spoken about”.
Politics Live: Could ‘H6’ be named in the Commons?
However he said that “of course we are concerned about the challenge China poses”, as he defended his push for a “pragmatic” relationship with Beijing.
Sir Keir said: “Our approach.. is one of engagement, of co-operating where we need to co-operate on issues like climate change, to challenge where we must and where we should particularly on issues like human rights, and to compete when it comes to trade.”
The alleged spy, known only as H6, was described in court as having formed an “unusual degree of trust” with the Duke of York. Last week a judge upheld a ruling that he should be banned from the UK.
Sky News has seen photos of him with David Cameron and Theresa May when they were Conservative prime ministers, but a court order prevents him from being named.
Identifying the agent is a “matter for the courts”, government minster Jim McMahon said earlier on Monday, amid threats from Reform UK to name the man in the House of Commons using parliamentary privilege.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Everybody within cabinet’ likely knows
This allows members of parliament to speak freely during parliamentary proceedings without fear of legal action.
Mr McMahon, a minister for local government, said that the mechanism should be exercised with caution, telling Sky News: “Whether people choose to use parliamentary privilege is a matter of individual reconciliation.
“In the end, they need to be able to justify why they’ve done that.”
He said that while he does not know the alleged agent’s identity, he assumes “that everybody within the cabinet, depending on their security clearance, will know the answer to that question”.
“In terms of the identity of the person…that is a matter for the courts. They will make a judgement on whether the identity should be released or not,” he said.
H6 ‘tip of the iceberg’
MPs want more information on the individual, with former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith seeking to ask an Urgent Question in parliament on Monday about the United Front Work Department – the group said to be associated with H6.
The earliest this could take place today, if granted by Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, would be at 3.30pm.
Sir Iain has warned there are “many, many more” like H6 in the UK.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Tip of the iceberg with Prince Andrew’
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re dealing with the tip of the iceberg.
“The reality is that there are many, many more involved in exactly this kind of espionage that’s taking place. The reality for us is very simple – China is a very clear threat.”
Tom Tugendhat, the former Conservative security minister, echoed those warnings, telling Sky News there has been “a pattern” of attempts to influence or change British policy, and also attempts to steal economic secrets and intellectual property.
He criticised Sir Keir for having a summit with China’s premier Xi Jinping, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves for planning meetings in China in the new year – saying closer ties are not appropriate.
He also called for Labour to continue with the foreign influence registration scheme, which was established under the Conservatives but is yet to be implemented.
The scheme would require those involved in promoting the interests of other countries to declare themselves.
Sir Keir told the press conference in Norway he has been “working on it from day one in government” and “there will be an update coming shortly”.
👉Listen to Politics At Jack And Sam’s on your podcast app👈
The alleged agent was first excluded from Britain by then-home secretary Suella Braverman in 2023, when the Home Office said he was believed to have carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for the Chinese Communist Party.
Judges at a specialist tribunal in London on Thursday ruled Ms Braverman had been “entitled to conclude” that he “represented a risk to the national security” after he launched an appeal against the decision.
Read more from Sky News:
Starmer to announce new green energy deal
H6 was invited to Prince Andrew’s birthday party in 2020, and was told by royal aide Dominic Hampshire he could act on the duke’s behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, a tribunal heard in July this year.
A judge ruled the Chinese businessman had an “unusual” degree of trust from the royal.
On Friday, the duke said he “ceased all contact” with the businessman after concerns were raised by the government.
The Chinese embassy in London has denied H6 is a spy and accused “some people” in the UK of being keen to “make up all kinds of ‘spy’ stories against China…to smear China and sabotage normal people-to-people exchanges between China and the UK”.
UK
How people are coping with the floods: Carpets, furniture and food destroyed as homes deluged under feet of water
People whose homes have been destroyed by the floods sweeping across parts of the UK over the past couple of days have been telling Sky News how they coped with the deluge.
In Lincolnshire, where a major incident has been declared, Terry, from Grantham, showed a Sky crew the aftermath of the deluge in his home, which was left under two feet of water.
“Everything’s gone,” he said, adding that he was “devastated”.
The first sign of trouble came at lunchtime on Monday, when his wife woke him and said there was water coming in [to the house], and “within a few minutes, the whole house was flooded”.
Terry told us he’s ‘devastated’
Flooding in Loughborough. Pic: AP
They rushed their belongings and pets upstairs, he said, as he revealed the damage to the flooded living room and kitchen, where the water mark was above a power socket.
Terry said the kitchen, where the floor was covered in sludge, smelled of mud and sewage, and their furniture and carpets were wrecked.
Flood waters in Loughborough, Leicestershire. Pic: PA
They have no electricity and the food in the cupboards and freezer was “completely ruined”.
Graham Johnson, who lives in a boat with his wife and dog, in the village of Barrow upon Soar in Leicestershire, was in the pub on Monday night, before the water started to rise “rapidly”.
People living in a local caravan park were moved as a severe flood warning was issued.
Graham Johnson, from Barrow upon Soar in Leicestershire, feared he would lose his boat home
A man is rescued from the flooding at a caravan park near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire. Pic: PA
Mr Johnson said he had gone out “for a couple of pints as usual and, the next thing we know, bingo”.
The couple feared their boat home was about to be swept towards the bridge.
“That’s our pride and joy, where we live, and we didn’t want to lose it,” he said, as he praised the “fantastic” emergency services, who rescued them and their dog after a nervy three-hour wait.
They were two of the 59 people rescued by firefighters in the county, where a major incident was declared and crews were called out to 160 flood-related incidents, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said.
Another Leicestershire resident whose home was inundated was Qasim Abdullah from Loughborough.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Flooding across East Midlands
Pictures taken by the Associated Press show him walking through almost knee-deep water in his living room.
In nearby Quorn, businesses have shut as the main high street has flooded for the second time in as many years.
Two of the pubs in particular have been damaged.
Last year, residents had to launch a crowd fundraiser to help pay for the costs of renovation. Not to mention soaring insurance premiums.
Indy Burmi, who owns a hair salon and restaurant, hasn’t suffered flooding, but said he’s had to close up and cancel all Tuesday’s reservations, as his clients simply can’t get into the village.
Read more:
No timescale for action on grooming gangs – latest
Several NHS trusts declare critical incidents
Teenager fatally stabbed on bus
And, with more rain forecast, conditions could get even worse in the short term, while residents worry that an annual battle with rising water is now the new normal.
Elsewhere in the UK, the next danger is from ice forming on untreated surfaces after rain on Tuesday evening, the Met Office has said, as it issued a new warning for northern England and Wales from 5pm until midday on Wednesday.
UK
Liverpool hospital declares critical incident over ‘exceptionally high’ demand on A&E amid rising flu cases
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway