The prime minister defends his approach of engaging with Xi Jinping’s government even as he admits to being concerned following news an alleged spy was able to form links at the heart of the British establishment.
Political reporter @fayebrownSky
Monday 16 December 2024 12:33, UK
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Sir Keir Starmer has 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 during a news conference in Norway, the prime minister said he could not comment on whether the government has discussed the situation with Buckingham Palace.
He said there is “a long-standing convention” in the UK that talks between Downing Street and the Royal Family are “never spoken about”.
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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.
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Sky News has seen photos of him with David Cameron and Theresa May when they were 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.
This allows members of parliament to speak freely during parliamentary proceedings without fear of legal action.
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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.
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.”
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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.
Mr Tugendhat 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 reporters in Norway he has been “working on it from day one in government” and “there will be an update coming shortly”.
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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.
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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”.
