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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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).

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In a statement ahead of his visit to Bergen, he said:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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In a briefing on the partnership deal, which is due to be signed next spring, No 10 said:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Starmer, right, and Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre, on a boat in Bergen, where they met for talks.”,”caption”:”Keir Starmer, right, and Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre, on a boat in Bergen, where they met for talks.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Leon Neal/AP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1734345376000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”05.36 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1734345884000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”05.44 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1734345884000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”05.44 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”05.44″,”title”:”Starmer says green industrial deal with Norway will help make UK world leader in carbon capture”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Mon 16 Dec 2024 05.56 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Mon 16 Dec 2024 04.46 EST”},{“id”:”676000408f08ded9b2a3a0bd”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

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.

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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.”

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“,”elementId”:”e647a4e4-f26f-4001-a880-57391630db5c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”text”:”Alleged Chinese spy who befriended Prince Andrew is ‘tip of iceberg’, warns senior MP”,”elementId”:”2ff7d66a-b3c3-42b9-94c8-9097b876597b”,”role”:”thumbnail”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/dec/16/prince-andrew-alleged-chinese-spy-naming”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

And here is Archie Bland’s First Edition briefing on the story, including further information about who H6 is.

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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.

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He also told the programme that the UK was seen by allies as the “soft underbelly” because of its reluctance to confront China.

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n

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.

n

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.

n

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The last Conservative government was also criticised for delaying the implementation of FIRS.

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Here is the agenda for the day.

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11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

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1.50pm: Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, gives a speech in Leeds giving details of her devolution white paper for England.

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2.30pm: Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

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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.

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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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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.

Keir Starmer, right, and Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre, on a boat in Bergen, where they met for talks. Photograph: Leon Neal/AP

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

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.