Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Sunday that he had raised "very strong concerns" with Chinese Premier Li Qiang about allegations of a spy within the U.K.'s Parliament.
During a press conference following the pair's meeting at the G20 conference in New Delhi, Sunak said that he warned Li "about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is obviously unacceptable." Sunak added that the pair "discussed a range of things and I raised areas where there are disagreements. This is just part of our strategy to protect ourselves, protect our values and our interests, to align our approach to China with that of our allies like America, Australia, Canada, Japan and others."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The meeting between Sunak and Li was not originally scheduled, but occurred early Sunday morning after news of the alleged spy's arrest broke, The Guardian reported. The allegations were reportedly the first topic that Sunak and Li discussed; Li said that the two countries had "differences in opinion." A report in Chinese media also said that Li told Sunak that the U.K. and China "should properly handle disagreements, respect each other's core interests and major concerns."
Chinese officials have not directly addressed the spying allegations.
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Local elections 2026: where are they and who is expected to win?The Explainer Labour is braced for heavy losses and U-turn on postponing some council elections hasn’t helped the party’s prospects
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
