Chinese spy gate

 

London Playbook

By EMILIO CASALICCHIO

with NOAH KEATE

https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/london-playbook/london-playbook-pm-two-to-tengbo/

 

Good afternoon. This is Emilio Casalicchio.

 

MONDAY CHEAT SHEET

— Ministers faced down accusations from Tories about foot-dragging on an anti-espionage scheme.

 

— The alleged Chinese agent at the heart of the Prince Andrew furore was named.

 

— The government revealed its big devolution plan amid concerns some local elections could be canceled.

 

— Keir Starmer didn’t want to talk about Church of England abuse — despite being willing to berate celebs accused of misconduct.

 

— The Nigel Farage milkshake attacker avoided jail.

 

TOP OF THE NEWSLIST

TWO TO TENGBO: Ministers are dismissing claims of foot-dragging over a long-awaited anti-espionage scheme — after businessman Yang Tengbo (who denies being a spy) was named as the alleged Chinese spook accused of infiltrating the British elite. Well … Prince Andrew, at least.

 

Firs up: In the Commons in the past hour, Security Minister Dan Jarvis insisted the government will launch its Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (a promised two-tier database of people engaged in political influence activities in Britain) in the summer, after Conservatives accused Labour of putting the brakes on.

 

Playbook is old enough to remember when … it was the Tories who were accused of taking the slow lane on the scheme during their stint in government in a bid to avoid angering the Chinese and cutting off lucrative business revenues.

 

Regardless: It’s Labour now in the hot seat as this row erupts. Playbook PM was watching from the press galleries in the Commons this afternoon as recent Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman were among the Tories berating the new administration.

 

Indeed: “The advice from MI5 was very very clear,” Tugendhat said about the briefings he got while he was still in government. “If China isn’t in the enhanced tier it’s not worth having.”

 

ICYMI: Nations listed in the enhanced tier of the scheme will need to provide more details about the activities of their agents — including those working for state-controlled companies. China hawks have long been arguing the scheme needs to be launched tout suite and for China to be in the top tier, natch.

 

Not having it: “Work is underway to identify which foreign powers will be placed on the enhanced tier,” Jarvis told the Commons. “That will be based on robust security and intelligence analysis.” His assurances didn’t quell the grumbles from China hawks like Iain Duncan Smith, who secured the urgent question (and got a telling off from the Speaker for leaking his plans to ask for one to the media overnight.)

 

But the best (and poss most egregious) attack came from … new Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, who accused PM Keir Starmer of taking a “sycophantic tone” towards Chinese president Xi Jinping at the recent G20 summit. We don’t remember hearing a lot from Philp over the past decade about Conservative leaders palling around with Xi.

 

Comeback: “At least he didn’t take him to the pub for a pint,” Jarvis quipped back in reference to the famous 2016 hang-out with David Cameron. The government claim is that the so-called “FIRS” scheme was not in a good state when Labour took over and has needed lots of work to get it ready to rumble.

 

The truth of the matter … is that this government (like the last) is facing pressure from businesses to keep China off the enhanced list because doing so could hit U.K. PLC in the pocket. Numerous people with knowledge of how these things work confirmed to Playbook PM the reporting from Times Pol Ed Steven Swinford that the financial services sector has been piling pressure on the Treasury not to whack the Chinese.

 

It really is this simple: One person said it’s all about not wanting to miss out on investment and not wanting to slap Chinese-linked firms with red tape. The Treasury is said to have long been concerned about the impact on the sector and seeking to dilute the foreign registration scheme as a result. Other departments are meanwhile said to be more eager to push ahead with the scheme. Financial services firms insist they are happy to be guided by HMT.

 

Nevertheless: Downing Street was insisting to hacks this afternoon the government puts national security before all. “Protecting national security is non-negotiable,” a spokesperson for Keir Starmer said. During his visit to Norway this morning, the PM told a press conference “we are concerned about the challenge that China poses.” He added: “Our approach is one of engagement: of cooperating where we need to cooperate.”

 

It’s worth noting … that the man at the center of all this denies he was an intelligence agent. “I have done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded,”  Yang Tengbo said in a statement this afternoon. “The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue.” A court decided a few hours ago it was fine to name him — so newsdesks have been unblurring all their photos.

 

Perfect timing: In the past hour Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defense Secretary John Healey held a four-way press conference at Lancaster House with Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles. Healey said the two nations discussed “the challenge of China — increasingly active, increasingly assertive” in the Indo-Pacific. The Aussies were in town to chat about the AUKUS submarine pact which is at least in part  aimed at countering China.

 

More war deals China won’t like: The Aussies and Brits are also in discussion about the former joining the GCAP fighter jet scheme between the U.K., Japan and Italy, according to Cristina Gallardo in the Wall Street Journal.

 

All this could get awks when … numerous U.K. minsters head to China in 2025! Rachel Reeves, Ed Miliband and Jonathan Reynolds have also been revealed as planning trips to Beijing. Let’s see how that new pragmatic relations thing works out.