Minister says Tories should stop ‘throwing mud’ over China spy case and accept their role in its collapse – UK politics live | Politics
Jarvis says Tories should stop ‘throwing mud’ over China spy case and accept their mistakes contributed to case collapsing Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, claims the government has changed its story on this. He says the PM told MPs last week minnisters and special advisers were not involved in handling the prosecution. But yesterday…
Jarvis says Tories should stop ‘throwing mud’ over China spy case and accept their mistakes contributed to case collapsing
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, claims the government has changed its story on this.
He says the PM told MPs last week minnisters and special advisers were not involved in handling the prosecution. But yesterday the Sunday Times claimed that, when the home secretary heard the case might be dropped, she made representations to ensure the evidence was as strong as possible.
He asks when the home secretary heard the case might collapse.
He says the Sunday Times reported yesterday on a meeting organised by Jonathan Powell, the national security minister, to discuss this in September. He claims the government originally denied this took place. He asks if the meeting discussed the case, and the possibility of further evidence being provided.
He asks if the attorney general spoke to the CPS after that meeting.
Jarvis says the Tory position on this is “confusing”. He says at first they accused the government of intervening with the prosecution. Then, when the government said it did not intervene, they said it should have done, he says.
He says the Tories should show “some humility” and accept the fact that they made mistakes. They should have updated the Official Secrets Act earlier, he says.
I gently say to the opposition front bench, they need to stop throwing mud and start coming to terms with what happened upon their watch.
Key events
Nandy says police risk assessment based ‘in no small part’ on fear Maccabi fans would be attacked because they are Israeli
Paula Barker (Lab) says safety concerns were raised before the match that led to the Hillsborough disaster, but they were ignoreed. She says thinks it is unprecedented for safety advice like this to be overturned. She asks if Nandy has seen it. And, if she disagrees with it, on what grounds does she disagree.
Nandy acknowledges that Barker represents a constituency where families of Hillsborough victims are living.
She says they should never treat safety as a secondary consideration.
And says says it is “absolutely” not the case that the government is trying to overturn the decision.
She says this would be the first time since the early 2000s that that all away fans would be banned from attending a match. She says she has discussed the risk assessment with the police. She goes on:
That the risk assessment is based in no small part on the risk posed to those fans that are attending who support Maccabi Tel Aviv because they are Israeli and because they are Jewish. Now we should be appalled by that and never allow it to stand.
Nigel Huddleston, the Conservative culture spokesperson, and Anna Sabine, the Lib Dem culture spokesperson, both supported Nandy in opposing the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans on attending the match and in wanting to ensure the police get the resources they need to allow the ban to be overturned.
Nandy says government will ensure lack of police resources does not prevent Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending match
Nandy said the government was speaking to West Midlands police and to Birmingham city council to discuss what resources they need to police the match safely.
She said it was ultimately for local agencies to take the safety decisions. But the government would ensure resources were not the problem, she said.
This fundamental principle, that nobody in our country will be excluded from participating in public life because of who they are, must be upheld.
Nandy says it was wrong to exclude Israeli fans as safety option for Maccabi match given ‘context’, and rising antisemitism
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, is responding to an urgent question on the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ban.
She says the safety advisory group, which proposed the ban, is operationally independent. They take decisions based on safety, she says.
She goes on:
However, this decision has far wider implications. In any situation, there is a risk that must be assessed, but in this case, prevention is in no small part down to the risk inherent in where the away fans come from and who they are.
It is in that context that the solution that is proposed to exclude a group from attending is wrong. It chooses exclusion, rather than looking at the options available to manage that risk. This is about who we are as a country.
A lot of the public discussion around this game has focused on events in the Middle East. Let me be clear, it is perfectly legitimate to hold and express strong views about what is happening in Israel and Gaza. People are free in this country to protest peacefully.
They are free to lobby government and event organisers about which countries can participate in tournaments, and they are free to choose not to attend events, or purchase products that they find unacceptable.
But they are not entitled to dictate who can participate in competition, attend a football match or walk the streets for fear of threats or reprisals, whatever your view on the events overseas.
This is a fundamental principle this government will fiercely defend.
And let me be clear, this decision was not made in a vacuum. It’s set against the backdrop of rising antisemitism here and across the world, and an attack on a synagogue in Manchester in which two innocent men were killed. It has a real world impact on a community who already feel excluded and afraid.
It is therefore completely legitimate to support the independence of the police to conduct that risk assessment and to question the conclusion that follows when it excludes the people at the heart of that risk.
Relationship with China cannot be summed up in single word, Jarvis says
Ben Spencer (Con) points out that Jarvis is refusing to say China poses a national security threat. He asks how China would describe the relationship.
Jarvis says:
No one who’s wanting to be considered as being serious thinks that the nature of our relationship with China can be defined by a single word …
This government says that China poses – and I said this a week ago – a series of threats to UK national security, from cyber attacks, foreign interference and espionage targeting our democratic institutions, the transnational repression of Hong Kongers.
Yet we are also alive to the fact that China does present the UK with opportunities as the world’s second largest economy.
We have to be clear-eyed, both about the challenges but also about the opportunities.
Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru) asks about Nathan Gill, the former Reform UK leader in Wales, pleading guilty to accepting bribes to make pro-Russian statements in the European parliament. She asks what is being done to “to ensure that Russian networks cannot continue to influence UK politics”.
Jarvis says the government is taking this “incredibly seriously”, and he says he can give Medi the assurances she wants.
Graham Stuart (Con) says Jarvis still has not answered the question raised by the Sunday Times story yesterday – when the home secretary first learned the spy trial was about to collapse, and what she did to ensure the CPS had the strongest evidence possible.
Jarvis does not answer directly, but says he has already addressed the points raised by Chris Philp when asked the urgent question.
Jarvis sidesteps question about whether the government would back private prosecution of alleged China spies
Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, says he has had legal advice saying the two alleged spies could be prosecuted via a private prosecution if the attorney general were to approve that process. Would it do that?
Jarvis says the government was disappointed about the case being dropped. He says he cannot speak on behalf of the attorney general, but would be happy to take this up with him.
Jarvis rejects claim made by Dominic Cummings about Jonathan Powell writing red box note for PM on China case
Graham Leadbitter (SNP) asks if Keir Starmer received a note in his ministerial red box after the September meeting organised by Jonathan Powell, his national security adviser, to discuss China, and the spy prosecution.
His question was inspired by this tweet from Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser.
Simple question for the lobby to ask No10 press office:
Can you confirm J Powell wrote a box note for the PM on the China spy case and will the PM give this note to Parliament so MPs can see whether the PM misled the House?
(I’m told by officials in No10/CO that JP was prepared to let the case collapse in pursuit of his broader goals viz China, there *was* such a box note, and the PM ticked the box note in the normal way, i.e approved it. I.e the official story from No10 is lies & they’ve disgracefully tried to blame a good official, Matt Collins, for *political* decisions)
Jarvis says that normally the government does not comment on the contents of the PM’s ministerial red box.
But he says on this occasion he is happy to confirm there wasn’t a note.
Jeremy Wright, a former Tory attorney general, says as far as he is concerned, the issue is not whether the government tried to get the CPS to change its mind. He does not think it did. But he wants to know why, when the CPS asked for extra evidence, the govenrment could not give it what it needed.
Jarvis quotes from what was said in the deputy national security adviser’s third witness statement. That set out the government’s position, he said. As for whether that met the evidential hurdle, that was a matter for the CPS, he says.
Jarvis says Tories should stop ‘throwing mud’ over China spy case and accept their mistakes contributed to case collapsing
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, claims the government has changed its story on this.
He says the PM told MPs last week minnisters and special advisers were not involved in handling the prosecution. But yesterday the Sunday Times claimed that, when the home secretary heard the case might be dropped, she made representations to ensure the evidence was as strong as possible.
He asks when the home secretary heard the case might collapse.
He says the Sunday Times reported yesterday on a meeting organised by Jonathan Powell, the national security minister, to discuss this in September. He claims the government originally denied this took place. He asks if the meeting discussed the case, and the possibility of further evidence being provided.
He asks if the attorney general spoke to the CPS after that meeting.
Jarvis says the Tory position on this is “confusing”. He says at first they accused the government of intervening with the prosecution. Then, when the government said it did not intervene, they said it should have done, he says.
He says the Tories should show “some humility” and accept the fact that they made mistakes. They should have updated the Official Secrets Act earlier, he says.
I gently say to the opposition front bench, they need to stop throwing mud and start coming to terms with what happened upon their watch.
Security minister Dan Jarvis answers urgent question on China spy case
Dan Jarvis, the security minister, is responding to an urgent question on the China spy case in the Commons.
He say the decision to drop the prosecution was taken by the CPS. He says the PM was only told about that a few days before the decision it was announced, and at that point there was nothing that he or other ministers could do to stop that.
No 10 rejects claim match rioting in Israel yesterday justifies Maccabi Tel Aviv fans being banned from Aston Villa match
At the No 10 lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said that the UK’s Football Policing Unit is making inquires as to what happened in Israel yesterday, where a match involving Maccabi Tel Aviv was called off after rioting. (See 11.10am.)
But the government does not accept that the rioting means West Midland police were right to ban Maccabi fan from a match with Aston Villa in Birmingham next month, the spokesperson indicated. He said discussions were still underway with the police to find out what resources they might need for the ban to be reversed, and for the match to go ahead with Maccabi fans attending. The government wanted all fans to be able to attend the match safely, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said West Midlands police were due to come back to the government with an update proposal “shortly”.
N0 10 rejects suggestions government ‘scared’ of letting MPs debate legislation to remove Prince Andrew’s titles
At the Downing Street the PM’s spokesperson sidestepped questions about whether the law should be changed to remove Prince Andrew’s dukedom from him.
Asked about this issue, the spokesperson said this was primarily a matter for Buckingham Palace – echoing the line taken by Bridget Phillipson this morning. (See 9.48am.)
The spokesperson claimed the government welcomed debate on this – although he did not propose a parliamentary debate, and he did not explain how MPs would be able to raise this in the Commons given the conventions in place that restrict criticism of members of the royal family in the chamber.
When a reporter put it to the spokesperson that the government seemed to be “scared” of legislating on this issue, the spokesperson replied: “The government isn’t scared of anyone or anything. But clearly this is a matter for the Palace.”
National grooming gangs inquiry must be headed by a judge, say Tories, after oversight panel hit by resignation
Ministers must appoint a judge to head the grooming gang inquiry, the Conservatives have said.
The Tories said it would have to be a judge-led inquiry after Fiona Goddard, a prominent survivor, resigned from the inquiry’s oversight panel saying she disagreed with the decision to shortlist a former chief constable and a former social worker as potential chairs.
Goddard said this amounted to a conflict of interest because the police and social services were the “very two services that contributed most to the cover-up of the national mass rape and trafficking of children”.
Commenting on this development, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said:
Survivors will never get justice from the same institutions that failed them in the before. This inquiry must be led by a sitting or recently retired senior judge, not ex-police officers or social workers marking their own homework.
The Conservatives are demanding a full, statutory, judge-led inquiry into the rape gangs and the cover-ups that protected them. Every official, police officer, and councillor who enabled these crimes must face prosecution for misconduct in public office. No more delays, no more excuses, no more cover up.
Starmer will attend Cop30 climate summit in Brazil, No 10 says, following weeks of criticism over reports he would miss it
Keir Starmer will attend the Cop30 climate conference in Brazil next month, Downing Street has said.
Last month it was reported that Starmer had no plans to attend, which led to the PM facing fierce criticism from environmentalists.
At the lobby briefing today the PM’s spokesperson told reporters:
The prime minister will attend the Cop30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, next month because net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st century, one that has the potential to reignite our industrial heartlands, create good jobs for the future … That’s why we’re restoring the UK as a global leader on climate action and green growth, and you can expect to see the PM driving forward that agenda at the Cop30 summit next month.
In response to claims that No 10 had implied Starmer would not be going, the spokesperson said they had always said ministerial attendance would be confirmed in due course.
Reform UK reviews if it underpaid VAT on tickets and merchandise
Reform UK has launched an investigation into whether it underpaid VAT on thousands of pounds of ticket sales and merchandise, Richard Partington reports.
Cooper suggests Russia is helping people smuggling gangs because it wants to use illegal migration ‘to destabilise Europe’
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has suggested that Russia is trying to help people smuggling networks because it wants to use illegal migration to destablise Europe.
She gave a statement on this topic to the Times to back up comments it had received from Daniel Mitov, Bulgaria’s interior minister, who told the paper his government had evidence Russia’s foreign intelligence service has links with people smuggling gangs.
Bulgaria is one of the countries invited to attend a summit in London on Wednesday which the UK government has convened to discuss what further measures European countries can take to stop illegal immigration through the western Balkans.
Cooper told the Times:
It is clear that illegal migration into Europe and beyond is being driven not just by organised crime networks seeking to make a profit, but by hostile state actors seeking to destabilise Europe.
That threat is real, growing and very serious, and I have made clear that we need to expand and strengthen our international cooperation to tackle it together.
We will therefore continue to support Bulgaria and our other Nato allies in securing Europe’s external frontiers, and tackling every different type of threat we face from the Putin regime, including providing the specialist equipment, intelligence and training that will help our Bulgarian counterparts to defend their borders and disrupt these criminal operations.