Starmer says UK ‘concerned’ about challenge posed by China, but declines to comment in detail on alleged spy revelations
Q: [From a Norwegian broadcaster] We have seen the story about Prince Andrew. What conversations have you had with Buckingham Palace about this? And do you think the UK is too soft on China?
Starmer says there is a long-standing convention that the PM does not discuss conversations with Buckingham Palace. He goes on:
Of course, we are concerned about the challenge that China poses.
As you know, I had a meeting with the [Chinese] president just a few weeks ago. Our approach is one of engagement, of cooperating where we need to cooperate, particularly for example 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.
Key events
Local goverment minister Jim McMahon says getting rid of two-tier council structure in England will save £2bn
There will be two government statements in the Commons this afternoon. Jim McMahon, the local government minister will give one on the devolution white paper, and Justin Madders, the business minister, will give one on the Royal Mail takeover.
One of the proposals in the white paper is to change the structure of local government in England in the 21 counties where there is two-tier local government (a county council and district councils). The government wants to replace those with unitary authorities, which is the system that has been in place in Scotland and Wales since the 1990s. Some parts of England are also served by unitary authorities.
In an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain earlier, McMahon claimed this reorganisation could save £2bn. He explained:
Where we are looking at reorganisation is to reflect the reality, which is that there are efficiencies that can be made by bringing councils together that could amount to over £2bn.
And if it’s a choice between £2bn in the running cost of an organisation or £2 billion on frontline neighbourhood services, I would say that most of the public want that investment in the frontline.
McMahon also claimed getting rid of the two-tier system would make it easier of people to understand who did what. He said:
I hear a lot from local people who live in two-tier areas where they don’t know which council to go to. You go to one council for some services, you go to another council for others.
And actually in many cases there are councillors that are dual-hatted, that will sit on both councils.
So this is about simplifying the system so that the accountability is strong, but it’s not to diminish the work that district councils and county councils have done in the past.
Under Labour the UK government has adopted a more conciliatory approach to China than under the Conservatives. Keir Starmer set this out last month when he met the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, at the G20 summit in Brazil. This is not because the Whitehall assessment of the security threat posed by China, or its human rights record, has changed; it is more to do with Labour prioritising economic growth, and wanting to minimise impediments to that.
Starmer’s comments during the press conference this morning (see 11.01am and 11.06am) imply he has not revised his view in the light of the recent “H6” alleged spy revelations.
Trump ‘in listening mode’ on Ukraine, and trying to learn what European leaders think, says Norwegian PM
Q: Did you talk about what a Trump presidency might mean for Ukraine?
Starmer says he and Støre have both spoken to Donald Trump. Starmer says he met Trump for dinner in New York before the US presidential election. He says allies have stood together behind Ukraine. There is a consensus that they must call out Russian aggression for what it is, and put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, Starmer says.
Støre, who has spoken to Trump by phone, says:
My perception was that the president was in a listening mode. He’s been calling many colleagues in Europe, trying to find out the thinking here, and appreciating that this is complex. I think that that’s the right point of departure.
And our message is that the sooner the Americans can define their strategy and their approach, the better, because that will bring some clarity to the approach on how this [will work out].
And that was the end of the press conference.
Starmer says announcement coming ‘shortly’ about delayed ‘foreign influence’ rules that MPs believe could constrain China
Q: [From PA Media] When will the the foreign influence registration scheme (FIRS) come into effect? Has the delay enabled this spy incident to happen? And does this mean the UK is the weakest link in the five eyes security alliance (as Iain Duncan Smith alleged this morning – see 9.46am)?
Starmer says the government has been working on the FIRS “from day one in government”. He says there will be “an update coming shortly”.
Starmer defends government’s decision to engage with China
Asked again about China, Starmer says:
Our approach is the approach I’ve just set out.
It’s important to engage. Of course, we have to challenge where we must, but it’s better to engage, to challenge, than to stay aside, as it were, important to cooperate where we can on issues like climate change, which need that cooperation.
So I’m very pleased with the engagement and the progress that we’ve made.
Starmer says UK ‘concerned’ about challenge posed by China, but declines to comment in detail on alleged spy revelations
Q: [From a Norwegian broadcaster] We have seen the story about Prince Andrew. What conversations have you had with Buckingham Palace about this? And do you think the UK is too soft on China?
Starmer says there is a long-standing convention that the PM does not discuss conversations with Buckingham Palace. He goes on:
Of course, we are concerned about the challenge that China poses.
As you know, I had a meeting with the [Chinese] president just a few weeks ago. Our approach is one of engagement, of cooperating where we need to cooperate, particularly for example 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.
Starmer and Støre are now taking questions.
Q: Can you update us on what safeguards might be offered to Ukraine if there is a ceasefire agreement?
Støre says they both think the war should end. It could end if Russia pulls out.
There should be no negotiations without Ukraine, he says.
He says Norway and other countries have already agreed security guarantees for Ukraine.
But he says he cannot comment on how those might change in response to peace negotiations.
Starmer agrees. He says they do not know if there will be negotiations. But it important to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position.
Both countries are providing training to Ukraine’s military.
He says he does not know what negotiations might lead to, or what security guarantees might have to be put in place.
But it would be a “big mistake to take our eye off the ball”, he says.
It would be a big mistake, in my view, to take our eye off the ball and not ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position, which is why we’ve been doubling down on this at many of the international meetings we’ve had with our allies.
Keir Starmer and his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Støre are now speaking to journalists in Bergen about the green industrial deal they have agreed. (See 10.44am.)
Støre says some years ago carbon capture and storage would have sounded like science fiction. But it is now part of dealing with the climate crisis.
Starmer says the deal will take the relationship with Norway to a new chapter. For many decades, the UK and Norway have worked together on energy policy. And he says the defence relationship between the two countries is strong.
Starmer says green industrial deal with Norway will help make UK world leader in carbon capture
Keir Starmer has said that a green industrial partnership with Norway announced today will help the UK become a world leader in carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS).
In a statement ahead of his visit to Bergen, he said:
This green industrial partnership will allow us to seize the opportunities from a new era of clean energy, driving investment into the UK and boosting jobs both now and in the future.
It will harness the UK’s unique potential to become a world-leader in carbon capture – from the North Sea to the coastal south – reigniting industrial heartlands and delivering on our Plan for Change.
Our partnership with Norway will make the UK more energy secure, ensuring we are never again exposed to international energy price spikes and the whims of dictators like Putin.
In a briefing on the partnership deal, which is due to be signed next spring, No 10 said:
Norway is currently leading the world on CCUS, and the UK wants to join it at the forefront, having announced a £21.7bn funding commitment in October to cement Britain as one of the most advanced CCUS markets globally and pave the way for further innovation.
The UK has enough capacity to store 200 years’ worth of emissions. This makes CCUS a revolutionary method in tackling the climate crisis and helping industry to decarbonise.
The UK and Norway also hold the majority of the carbon storage potential in the North Sea, so are strategically placed to support Europe to meet its net zero ambitions and provide greater energy security.
Royal Mail takeover by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský approved
The sale of Royal Mail’s parent company to the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský has been approved by the UK government after a review under national security laws, Jasper Jolly reports.
Government believes it’s for courts to decide if alleged Chinese spy can be named, says minister
Jim McMahon, the local government minister, was doing an interview round this morning, talking about the devolution white paper. Asked if he thought H6, the alleged Chinese spy, should be named, he said it was a matter for the courts. Asked on the Today programe what the government’s view was, McMahon replied: “The government believes it’s for the courts to decide.”
Iain Duncan Smith was not the only Conservative MP who described the alleged Chinese spy “H6” as the “tip of the iceberg” on the media this morning. In an interview on BBC Breakfast Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, said:
I’m absolutely certain that there are members of the United Front Work Department [a Chinese intelligence gathering unit] who are active right now in attempting to influence journalism, academics, politics, and the whole lot. This is really the tip of the iceberg.
And so the story I can understand why it’s been about Prince Andrew, but it’s not really about Prince Andrew. It’s about the way the Chinese Communist Party is seeking to exert influence here in the United Kingdom.
Keir Starmer has held a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Støre. Before they met, Støre said:
This is possibly the strongest of friendship for Norway, across the North Sea.
A lot of history and common experience but now we are really strengthened by common issues right ahead of us – security, a more unstable Europe that is going to require defence co-operation and also energy and climate.
And Starmer said:
It’s really fantastic to be here today. As you rightly say between our two countries huge shared history, forged sometimes in difficult circumstances but a very, very strong history, shared thinking, shared values.
And strategically we’re very, very closely bound together of course on issues of defence and security but also on questions of energy.
MPs press for answers on alleged Chinese spy who befriended Prince Andrew
Good morning. MPs are pushing for a government statement, or an urgent question (UQ), in the Commons this afternoon that would cover the activities of “H6”, the alleged Chinese spy who befriended Prince Andrew. As Peter Walker reports, Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader and prominent China hawk who has said he is tabling a UQ, told the Today programme this morning that H6 might just be “the tip of the iceberg” in terms of Beijing’s efforts to infiltrate the UK. Here is Peter’s story.
And here is Archie Bland’s First Edition briefing on the story, including further information about who H6 is.
The media cannot name H6 because of a court order. In parliament MPs have absolute privilege, which means they can ignore a court order like this without having to worry about being prosecuted for contempt of court, and there has been speculation that an MP might use privilege to identify H6 this afternoon. But there is no free-for-all in the House of Commons, the Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, generally tries to stop MPs ignoring court orders of this kind and he has a lot of leeway to constrain debate. He also gets to decide whether a UQ is granted, and normally he works on the basis that if an MP is telling the media first that they are applying for a UQ, that is a reason for not allowing it. It is quite possible we might get to the end of the day without this coming up in the chamber at all.
But Keir Starmer won’t be able to avoid questions on this. He is in Norway, where he is due to speak to reporters later this morning, and he is bound to be asked about H6.
Starmer may also be asked about why the government is delaying implementing the foreign influence registration scheme (FIRS). This measure was part of the National Security Act 2023 but has still not been enacted. It requires people working on behalf of foreign governments in the UK to register. But it also includes an “enhanced tier”, posing tougher requirements on people working on behalf of states seen as posing more of a risk. The government cannot set the scheme up without deciding whether or not to include China in the “enhanced tier” and this decision is problematic. Security experts say China should obviously be in this category, as the H6 story illustrates. But China would view this as an insult, and categorising it alongside Russia, Iran etc might kibosh Starmer’s efforts to improve economic relations with Beijing.
The Home Office has been saying it has had to delay implementation of FIRS because the legislation was not left in a fit state. But this morning Duncan Smith told the Today programme that he did not believe that, and that the government was just making up an excuse to avoid offending China.
He also told the programme that the UK was seen by allies as the “soft underbelly” because of its reluctance to confront China.
There is nothing wrong with the foreign influence registration scheme. ‘It’s not fit for purpose’, I don’t believe a word of that, nobody with half a brain will believe a word of that. The reality is, it’s an excuse not to upset China.
We are now seen, I think, by our five eyes security partners, as the soft underbelly of that alliance and that’s a real worry.
The last Conservative government was also criticised for delaying the implementation of FIRS.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.30am: Keir Starmer is due to hold a press conference in Norway with his Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Støre. He is in the country to launch a green industrial partnership. Later he will be travelling to Estonia.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
1.50pm: Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, gives a speech in Leeds giving details of her devolution white paper for England.
2.30pm: Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
2.40pm: Kemi Badenoch gives a speech on Labour’s economic policies at an event organised by opponents of the government’s plans to extend inheritance tax to farms.
4.30pm: David Lammy, the foreign secretary, and John Healey, the defence secretary, speak at a press conference after an Aukus summit held with their Australian counterparts.
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