PM issues China warning – and hits out at Brexit
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Sir Keir Starmer has warned China poses “real national security threats to the United Kingdom” – and hit out at Brexit.
During a speech at the Guildhall in London, the prime minister said “wild promises” made to the British people ahead of the referendum have been unfulfilled.
“How it was sold and delivered was simply wrong,” he added. “We are still dealing with the consequences today.”
Sir Keir argued it would be “utterly reckless” to consider Brexit as a template for future foreign policy – and attacked politicians who have a “corrosive, inward-looking attitude”.
He singled out Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, who have both called for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights – and Zack Polanski, who wants to leave NATO.
Such attitudes “offer grievance rather than hope”, the PM said – accusing them of having “a declinist vision of a lesser Britain, not a Great Britain”.
Although Sir Keir opposed Brexit when in Opposition, he stressed that the vote to leave “was a fair, democratic expression, and I will always respect that”.
He told the Lady Mayor’s Banquet that Labour has made “a decisive move to face outward again and build our power, both hard and soft, which had been so damaged and neglected”.
The Lady Mayor’s Banquet took place on Monday night. Pic: Reuters
‘Protecting our security is non-negotiable’
Elsewhere in the speech, the prime minister warned the UK needs a policy towards China that recognises the national security threat it poses.
He said: “For years we have blown hot and cold. We had the ‘Golden Age’, which then flipped to an ‘Ice Age’. We reject that binary choice.
“So our response will not be driven by fear, nor softened by illusion. It will be grounded in strength, clarity and sober realism.”
China has been a major issue in Westminster of late following accusations of spying in parliament, and controversy over the new “super embassy” that Beijing wants to build in central London.
Analysis: Not everyone will like what PM had to say
The China hawks like Iain Duncan Smith, Tom Tugendhat and others on the Conservative benches – and indeed Reform – won’t like this one little bit.
A large part of this speech was devoted to China, and he did talk about the twin-track approach: being tough on national security, but at the same time talking to the Chinese.
He bemoaned the fact that a British prime minister hadn’t talked to the Chinese premier since Theresa May in February 2018.
This was probably the most wide-ranging, perhaps most significant foreign policy speech we’ve heard from Sir Keir Starmer.
It comes against the backdrop of all the political turmoil over the budget, but it was a serious speech. It will please those who want to see the UK taking a much more interventionist approach rather than isolationist.
His supporters will like what they’ve heard here – but not China hawks and Brexiteers.
However, Sir Keir defended plans to visit China in the new year – and said an absence of engagement with the world’s second-biggest economy would be “staggering” and a “dereliction of duty”.
He described it as “a nation of immense scale, ambition, and ingenuity” and a “defining force in technology, trade and global governance”.
‘Huge’ opportunities for businesses
Setting out his own approach, Sir Keir explained: “This is not a question of balancing economic and security considerations. We don’t trade off security in one area, for a bit more economic access somewhere else.
“Protecting our security is non-negotiable – our first duty. But by taking tough steps to keep us secure, we enable ourselves to cooperate in other areas.”
The PM added that he wants to give businesses “the confidence, clarity, and support” to win opportunities in China.
“In areas like financial and professional services, creative industries, pharmaceuticals, luxury goods and more – Great British success stories – the export opportunities are huge, and we will back you to seize them,” he said.
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PM preparing for likely China visit
‘Starmer continues to kowtow to China’
Sky News understands the prime minister is set to approve plans for a controversial Chinese “super embassy” in central London.
A final decision on the planning application for the former Royal Mint site near the Tower of London is due on 10 December after repeated delays.
Concerns were previously raised after Beijing’s planning application featured blacked-out areas.
Since he was elected last year, Sir Keir has been active on the world stage, trumpeting deals with the US, India, and the EU and leading the “coalition of the willing” in support of Ukraine.
But he has also faced criticism from his opponents, who accuse him of spending too much time out of the UK attending international summits rather than focusing on domestic issues.
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The Tories branded Starmer ‘Beijing’s useful idiot’. Pic: Reuters
Responding to the prime minister’s speech, shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “From China’s continued flouting of economic rules to transnational repression of Hong Kongers in Britain, Starmer’s ‘reset’ with Beijing is a naive one-way street, which puts Britain at risk while Beijing gets everything it wants.
“Starmer continues to kowtow to China and is captivated by half-baked promises of trade.
“Coming just days after the latest Chinese plot to interfere in our democracy was exposed, his love letter to the Chinese Communist Party is a desperate ploy to generate economic growth following his budget of lies and is completely ill-judged.
“While China poses a clear threat to Britain, China continues to back Iran and Russia, and plots to undermine our institutions. Keir Starmer has become Beijing’s useful idiot in Britain.”
