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The government is facing renewed calls to label China a threat after the arrest of a parliamentary researcher on suspicion of spying for the superpower.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden was delivering a statement on the matter in the House of Commons.

Earlier in the afternoon, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle warned MPs against going into details on the matter – or naming the suspect who was arrested – during the debate.

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A slew of Conservative MPs – some of them sanctioned by China – shared their displeasure about the fact they were not told about the arrest of the researcher when it happened.

They, alongside MPs on opposition benches, called on the government to label China a threat to the UK.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also spoke in the Commons after meeting with China’s premier Li Qiang at the G20 over the weekend.

Mr Sunak said: “The sanctity of this place must be protected and the right of members to speak their minds without fear or sanction must be maintained.

“We will defend our democracy and our security – so I was emphatic with premier Li that actions which seek to undermine British democracy are completely unacceptable and will never be tolerated.”

Oliver Dowden
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Oliver Dowden said the government had been ‘clear-eyed’ about China

Mr Dowden repeated the government’s position laid out in the integrated review refresh earlier this year, that China was a “systemic challenge” to the UK.

Liz Truss, the former foreign secretary and former prime minister, labelled China as the “largest threat, both to the world and to the United Kingdom, for freedom and democracy.”

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, another ex-leader of the Conservative Party, said: “It’s appalling news that we have a potential cell operating in and around Westminster, an espionage cell, and I as a sanctioned individual alongside many of my colleagues are particularly perturbed by this particular news.”

He added: “The problem lies in the mess we’ve got into over what we define China as in respect to us. Are they a threat or are they not? If they are a threat, why don’t we call them a threat and take the relative action that is necessary to deal with them on that basis and sanction some people?”

Conservative MPs Tim Loughton, Theresa Villiers and Sir Bob Seely also called for the government to take more action.

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How much difference is there between a challenge and a threat?


Rob Powell Political reporter

Rob Powell

Political correspondent

@robpowellnews

Quite a lot, according to several Conservative MPs who got up to call for a more robust approach to China in the Commons this afternoon.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden did say the government was “clear about the threat that China poses” but the core position still appears to be that Beijing represents a “systemic challenge”.

That’s not hard enough for many on the backbenches who want China officially designated as a threat, sanctions imposed on individuals and the country barred from an artificial intelligence conference being held in the UK this autumn.

Such a change seems unlikely for now.

The Foreign Office has set out a clear policy of cautious engagement with Beijing, on the grounds of economic necessity and in the search for global solutions to problems like climate change and pandemics.

In a Commons session where any talk of the arrested individual was quickly shut down by the Speaker, one specific question connected to the case did come up.

Did Foreign Secretary James Cleverly raise the alleged Chinese spy with Beijing when he visited two weeks ago?

No, came the answer from Mr Dowden, who said while ministers regularly raise the broader issue of interference – they wouldn’t talk about specific cases, especially ones currently subject to a police investigation.

Mr Dowden conceded China was the “number one state-based threat” to the UK’s economic security.

The minister added the UK government had been “clear-eyed” about the threats China poses towards the UK, and was taking action to tackle them – such as banning Huawei from UK infrastructure and banning TikTok on government phones.

Sir Keir Starmer, who responded to Mr Sunak’s statement, pushed the government on whether Foreign Secretary James Cleverly knew about the arrests before he became the first foreign secretary to visit China in five years.

The visit took place in August, five months after the arrest took place.

Mr Sunak said: “I am sure he will appreciate that as there is an ongoing investigation, as you have also said Mr Speaker, I am limited in what I can say specifically.

“But I have been emphatically clear in our engagement with China that we will not accept any interference in our democracy and parliamentary system.”

Sir Iain asked Mr Dowden a similar question earlier, and was told by the minister that a running commentary could not be provided.

In a statement released by his lawyers, the arrested man said: “I feel forced to respond to the media accusations that I am a ‘Chinese spy’. It is wrong that I should be obliged to make any form of public comment on the misreporting that has taken place.

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“However, given what has been reported, it is vital that it is known that I am completely innocent. I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party.

“To do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for.”

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‘Shameful’ that black boys in London more likely to die than white boys, says Met Police chief

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'Shameful' that black boys in London more likely to die than white boys, says Met Police chief

It is “shameful” that black boys growing up in London are “far more likely” to die than white boys, Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley has told Sky News.

The commissioner told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that relations with minority communities “is difficult for us”.

Sir Mark, who came out of retirement to become head of the UK’s largest police force in 2022, said: “We can’t pretend otherwise that we’ve got a history between policing and black communities where policing has got a lot wrong.

“And we get a lot more right today, but we do still make mistakes. That’s not in doubt. I’m being as relentless in that as it can be.”

He said the “vast majority” of the force are “good people”.

However, he added: “But that legacy, combined with the tragedy that some of this crime falls most heavily in black communities, that creates a real problem because the legacy creates concern.”

Sir Mark, who also leads the UK’s counter-terrorism policing, said it is “not right” that black boys growing up in London “are far more likely to be dead by the time they’re 18” than white boys.

“That’s, I think, shameful for the city,” he admitted.

The Met Police chief’s admission comes two years after an official report found the force is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

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Police chase suspected phone thief

Baroness Casey was commissioned in 2021 to look into the Met Police after serving police officer Wayne Couzens abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

She pinned the primary blame for the Met’s culture on its past leadership and found that stop and search and the use of force against black people was excessive.

At the time, Sir Mark, who had been commissioner for six months when the report was published, said he would not use the labels of institutionally racist, institutionally misogynistic and institutionally homophobic, which Casey insisted the Met deserved.

However, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who helped hire Sir Mark – and could fire him – made it clear the commissioner agreed with Baroness Casey’s verdict.

After the report was released, Sir Mark said “institutional” was political language so he was not going to use it, but he accepted “we have racists, misogynists…systematic failings, management failings, cultural failings”.

A few months after the report, Sir Mark launched a two-year £366m plan to overhaul the Met, including increased emphasis on neighbourhood policing to rebuild public trust and plans to recruit 500 more community support officers and an extra 565 people to work with teams investigating domestic violence, sexual offences and child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips from 8.30am on Sunday.

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Unite votes to suspend Angela Rayner over Birmingham bin strike

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Unite votes to suspend Angela Rayner over Birmingham bin strike

Labour’s largest union donor, Unite, has voted to suspend Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner over her role in the Birmingham bin strike row.

Members of the trade union, one of the UK’s largest, also “overwhelmingly” voted to “re-examine its relationship” with Labour over the issue.

They said Ms Rayner, who is also housing, communities and local government secretary, Birmingham Council’s leader, John Cotton, and other Labour councillors had been suspended for “bringing the union into disrepute”.

There was confusion over Ms Rayner’s membership of Unite, with her office having said she was no longer a member and resigned months ago and therefore could not be suspended.

But Unite said she was registered as a member. Parliament’s latest register of interests had her down as a member in May.

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The union said an emergency motion was put to members at its policy conference in Brighton on Friday.

More on Angela Rayner

Unite is one of the Labour Party’s largest union donors, donating £414,610 in the first quarter of 2025 – the highest amount in that period by a union, company or individual.

The union condemned Birmingham’s Labour council and the government for “attacking the bin workers”.

Mountains of rubbish have been piling up in the city since January after workers first went on strike over changes to their pay, with all-out strike action starting in March. An agreement has still not been made.

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Rat catcher tackling Birmingham’s bins problem

Ms Rayner and the councillors had their membership suspended for “effectively firing and rehiring the workers, who are striking over pay cuts of up to £8,000”, the union added.

‘Missing in action’

General secretary Sharon Graham told Sky News on Saturday morning: “Angela Rayner, who has the power to solve this dispute, has been missing in action, has not been involved, is refusing to come to the table.”

She had earlier said: “Unite is crystal clear, it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette.

“Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts.

“The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council, is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises.

“People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer not workers.”

SN pics from 10/04/25 Tyseley Lane, Tyseley, Birmingham showing some rubbish piling up because of bin strikes
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Piles of rubbish built up around Birmingham because of the strike over pay

Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said the government’s “priority is and always has been the residents of Birmingham”.

He said the decision by Unite workers to go on strike had “caused disruption” to the city.

“We’ve worked to clean up streets and remain in close contact with the council […] as we support its recovery,” he added.

A total of 800 Unite delegates voted on the motion.

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Binance’s CZ threatens to sue Bloomberg over Trump stablecoin report

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Binance’s CZ threatens to sue Bloomberg over Trump stablecoin report

Binance’s CZ threatens to sue Bloomberg over Trump stablecoin report

Binance co-founder CZ has dismissed a Bloomberg report linking him to the Trump-backed USD1 stablecoin, threatening legal action over alleged defamation.

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