Britain’s refresh of its defence and foreign policy may mark the moment when the UK sobers up about its place in a world that it now describes as “defined by danger, disorder and division”, and increasingly tilting to authoritarianism. Gone is the optimistic Global Britain bombast of the Boris Johnson era, set out in the original integrated review only two years ago. That version championed the UK as “a beacon of democratic sovereignty” and one of the most influential countries in the world, and hailed its ability to draw on…
Tag: Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak unveils £5bn extra defence spending ahead of US Aukus summit – UK politics live
From 3h ago Rishi Sunak unveils £5bn extra defence spending ahead of Aukus summit in US Good morning. Rishi Sunak is in San Diego, California, where today he will meet Joe Biden, the US president, and Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, for an Aukus meeting. Aukus is the Australia/US/UK security pact, primarily focused on providing Australia with nuclear-powered submarine capacity. It was set up when Boris Johnson was prime minister, and now provides him with the material for one of his most over-used jokes. The meeting will coincide with…
Sunak’s focus may be on China, but it’s Europe’s security that is vital for the UK
The refresh of the integrated review of defence and foreign policy comes only two years after the original, and if Labour were to win the election it may only last a similar amount of time. Nor would it have happened if it hadn’t been for Conservative chaos, as reopening the review was the brainchild of the short-lived Liz Truss. To be fair, the war in Ukraine has upended previous assumptions, but this is not really the path taken by Rishi Sunak. A large part of what is announced focuses on…
Rishi Sunak risks row with Tory hawks over China balancing act
Rishi Sunak has warned that China’s plans to “reshape the world order” represent an era-defining challenge for Britain, but risked sparking a row with hawks in his own party by dismissing calls for Beijing to be categorised as a threat. As he flew to a summit designed to shift the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region, the prime minister signalled a major refreshing of the UK’s national security strategy and uplift in defence spending. The moves are meant to curb the influence of China, which Sunak said was becoming…
Sunak heads to US to unveil latest news on Australian nuclear sub deal
Rishi Sunak will fly to San Diego on Sunday to unveil plans for supplying Australia with nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus scheme amid concerns about the growing threat from China. A major announcement 18 months in the making is expected when the UK prime minister meets his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, and US president Joe Biden. In response to concerns about Beijing’s economic coercion and foreign policy aims, the UK’s defence and security strategy for the 2020s is being updated, and the revised version is due to be published on…
MPs call for UK to ban Chinese gene research firm from government contracts
Rishi Sunak is under pressure to follow the US and bar the Chinese genome research company BGI Group from government contracts as the firm recommitted to continue its work in the UK. MPs on the defence, foreign and health select committees along with former Lib Dem cabinet minister Alistair Carmichael have joined calls for action over fears that the company and others pose a security risk to genetic data in the UK. Last week, Washington added BGI subsidiaries BGI Research and BGI Tech Solutions to a trade blacklist due to…
Truss to call for tough sanctions against China if it escalates Taiwan tensions
Britain and the rest of the G7 should urgently agree a tough package of sanctions to impose on China if it escalates military tensions with Taiwan, Liz Truss will argue, as she uses her first public overseas speech to pile pressure on Rishi Sunak. Speaking in Tokyo on Friday, the former prime minister will urge her successor to be more hawkish in standing up to Beijing, warning coordinated action is needed to block “the rise of a totalitarian China” given “the free world is in danger”. Truss is expected to…
Rishi Sunak under pressure from backbench MPs to declare China a ‘threat’ – UK politics live
From 1h ago Sunak facing backbench MP pressure to declare China a ‘threat’ Good morning and welcome to the UK politics live blog. Prime minister Rishi Sunak finds himself under pressure today to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps and label China a “threat” as part of the government’s integrated review of global security. In October, Liz Truss formally designated China “the most serious long-term threat to our values and way of life”. With concerns mounting over the UK’s capability to deal with suspected Chinese spy balloons, Sunak is being urged…
Pro-democracy Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai requests Rishi Sunak meeting – report
Lawyers for the Hong Kong activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai have reportedly requested a meeting with the British prime minister to discuss his case. Lai, a dual Hong Kong and British citizen, is awaiting trial on national security charges in one of the most high-profile cases brought by Hong Kong authorities against the pro-democracy movement. If convicted he could face life in prison. According to the BBC, Lai’s international legal team has written to the British leader, Rishi Sunak, requesting an urgent meeting about “potential ways to secure Mr…
Covid test for travellers from China could have been avoided, says MP
The requirement for travellers from China to England to provide a negative Covid test before departure could have been avoided if Beijing was “upfront” about its data, the chair of the Commons health committee has said. Rishi Sunak announced a major U-turn on Friday by imposing checks on travellers from China from 5 January, after criticism from a growing number of Conservative MPs over his “dithering”. The prime minister’s latest reversal was welcomed by the chair of the Commons health and social care committee, Conservative MP Steve Brine, who said…