Rishi Sunak warns of China threat, sanctions to be announced soon – Live

Senior Conservative MP Henry Smith, a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), said: independent The government should not be “naive” and should realize that China is a “threat”, Archie Mitchell Report.

Responding to news of Chinese hacking of British MPs and electoral systems, he said it was “not surprising and regrettable”.

Mr Smith added: “I think we need to be more serious when it comes to China. We have this dichotomy: they are an important part of the global market and they cannot be ignored, but at the same time they do not abide by international rules-based The way the system is is something we need to really recognize and frankly be defensive about.

“Whether it’s hacking British MPs, or insulting Uyghurs or pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, or threatening Taiwan, we need a stronger response.”

Mr Smith said: “Clearly their actions pose a threat, what else do they need to do before people acknowledge that?

“It’s difficult right now because they are a critical component of the global economy, but I agree with Antony Blinken and the U.S. government not to be naive when it comes to our relationship with China, both as a trading partner and their impact on the international Threats to world order and democratic values.”

Britain is preparing to impose sanctions on those believed to be involved in Chinese state-backed interference after Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden released details about the alleged incident late on Monday.

Lib Dems call for David Cameron to speak in the House of Commons and not just before the 1922 Backbench Committee of Conservative MPs, Archie Mitchell Report.

The party said it was “outrageous” for the foreign secretary to address only Conservative MPs rather than all MPs amid a serious threat to national security.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Layla Moran said: “When we face such a serious national security threat, only Conservative backbenchers, not all MPs, will hear the Foreign Secretary and have the opportunity to ask him questions , which is outrageous.”

“For more than half a year, MPs have been calling on David Cameron to answer questions in the House of Commons. Out of serious concerns about the threat to our democracy from the Chinese government, the Foreign Secretary must make this happen as a matter of urgency.”

Lord Cameron will address an influential committee of Conservative MPs at a private meeting tonight.

Prime Minister Sunak said that China has posed an “epoch-making challenge.”

Speaking at an engineering firm in Barrow, he echoed language used in the government’s foreign policy review, saying: “We are very aware that what is happening now is that China is acting increasingly assertively abroad and increasingly assertively at home. Dictatorship is an epoch-making challenge and the greatest national threat to our economic security.

“So it’s right that we take steps to protect ourselves and that’s what we’re doing.”

He declined to mention the hacking statement released by Oliver Dowden, but said: “On cyber, we have the world-leading National Cyber ​​Security Centre.

“In fact, as I travel around the world, other leaders want to learn from us and talk to us because they believe our capabilities in this country are very strong.”

Former government minister Sir Simon Clark has called on the government to “end its naivety” about China, Zoe Grunewald Report.

Sir Simon Clark has criticized the government for being “naive” about China and compared the Chinese president to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Sir Simon posted on social media site

He added: “If we blame ourselves for not seeing Putin’s true nature, why should we make the same mistake with Xi Jinping?”

A poll has found that a majority of Conservative voters would rather increase defense spending than cut taxes.

The Daily Telegraph’s Savanta poll found that 59% of those who supported the Conservatives in 2019 supported an increase in the defense budget.

“The prime minister is staking himself and his party’s political future on an improving economy that will allow him to deliver tax cuts to a grateful public,” said Chris Hopkins, director of political research at Savanta.

“But our latest research shows this may be misguided, with nearly two-thirds of Tory voters wanting him to increase defense spending, even if it means he can’t cut taxes.”

The Prime Minister will launch a new fund, backed by £20m a year of public money over the next ten years, to support development in Barrow-in-Furness. Barrow-in-Furness is a Cumbrian town home to the UK’s Astute class submarines and upcoming dreadnought programme.

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the government was “very weak” in dealing with cyber threats from China.

“The United States has sanctioned approximately 12 Xinjiang officials and 42 Hong Kong officials, all of whom are very senior figures in the Chinese regime.” he told Financial Times.

“The UK has only sanctioned three people in Xinjiang and no one in Hong Kong – a place we used to run. It’s unbelievable,” he added.

Last July, Sir Ian told independent The government needs to “take a closer look” at who owns Chinese companies with links to the UK, he said as he criticized the Vodafone and Three merger.

“The government still doesn’t seem to understand that Chinese companies can be forced to hand over their data to Beijing immediately,” he said.

“We should really be worried about this. I also think we need to take a closer look at who owns these companies, their connections to the Chinese government and the sources of the money that flows through them.”

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According to reports, Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturer Everview Lithium Energy is about to invest billions of pounds in building the UK’s largest gigafactory.

EVE, the world’s largest maker of batteries for Tesla-like cars and which supplies BMW, is understood to be in advanced talks to build a 60 GWh factory near Coventry. sunday times the report said.

Sources close to the negotiations told the newspaper that the company would initially commit to investing at least £1.2 billion to build a 20GWh gigafactory.

The government is reportedly concerned that Britain’s adversaries are deliberately spreading false information about the Princess of Wales to “destabilize the country”.