National security comes first, minister says amid reports Chinese embassy in London nearing approval – UK politics live

Liz Kendall says ‘we are clear-eyed about our relationship with China and national security will always come first’Keir Starmer insisted he would “robustly” protect the UK’s national interests in response to speculation he will visit China early next year and the country’s controversial embassy in London will be approved, reports the PA news agency.The prime minister said that no visit to China had yet been confirmed, while officials refused to comment on speculation about the planned embassy near the Tower of London. But Starmer defended his approach to dealing with Xi Jinping’s country, which was to “cooperate where we can and challenge where we must, particularly on national security”.The meetings I’m having at the G20 aren’t confirmed yet. Nor is any visit confirmed yet.Our approach is the same approach as we’ve always taken, which is cooperate where we can and challenge where we must, particularly on national security. Continue reading…