Latest news with #UKRelations
Associated Press
24-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
UK calls China a major challenge but an essential economic partner
LONDON (AP) — China's attempts to spy, destabilize and disrupt Britain's economy and democracy have grown, but Beijing is still a vital economic partner for the U.K., the government said Tuesday. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said 'China's power is an inescapable fact' and freezing relations with the world's second biggest economy is 'not an option.' He spoke to lawmakers as he outlined findings from the government's 'China audit.' 'China is our third biggest trading partner, our universities' second largest source of international students. China will continue to play a vital role in supporting the U.K.'s secure growth,' Lammy said. The Labour Party government pledged to conduct an in-depth examination of U.K.-China relations after it was elected almost a year ago, in an effort to balance the country's economic interests and its security. Many details of the review will remain classified for security reasons, Lammy said. Its conclusions were summarized in a document outlining the U.K. government's broader national security strategy. It said that 'instances of China's espionage, interference in our democracy and the undermining of our economic security have increased in recent years.' Yet the government resisted pressure from China hawks in Parliament to label China a threat on a par with Russia. The security review called it a 'geostrategic challenge' but also an essential player in tackling major issues such as climate change, global health and economic stability. 'We will seek a trade and investment relationship that supports secure and resilient growth, and boosts the U.K. economy,' the government said. 'Yet there are several major areas, such as human rights and cybersecurity, where there are stark differences and where continued tension is likely.' Opposition Conservative Party foreign affairs spokeswoman Priti Patel said the government was showing 'signs of naivety' about China. Another Conservative lawmaker, Harriet Cross, branded Beijing 'at best unreliable and at worst hostile.' U.K.-China relations have chilled since the short-lived 'golden era' announced by then-Prime Minister David Cameron in 2015, after a series of spying and cyberespionage allegations, Beijing's crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony, and China's support for Russia in the Ukraine war. There was no immediate comment from China on the review. China was one of many challenges identified in a review that the government said marked 'a hardening and a sharpening of our approach to national security' in an increasingly dangerous world. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has pledged, along with other NATO members, to increase spending on security to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035. The total includes 3.5% on defense and 1.5% on broader security and resilience. The U.K. currently spends 2.3% of national income on defense and says that will rise to 2.6% by 2027.
Arab News
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Saudi interior minister meets outgoing UK ambassador in Riyadh
LONDON: Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif met Neil Crompton, the outgoing UK ambassador to Riyadh, in his office on Sunday. Crompton bid farewell to Prince Abdulaziz as his tenure as ambassador ended. Prince Abdulaziz thanked Crompton for his service in the Kingdom and wished him success. Crompton will be succeeded by Stephen Hitchen. In a previous interview with Arab News, Crompton described Saudi Arabia as a 'key, indispensable partner' to the UK. 'We have a shared history, and part of our shared history is recognition that Saudi Arabia is a key diplomatic partner, not just in the Arab world, but in the Islamic world. I think it has a neutral ability to bridge gaps both between east and west, and north and south,' Crompton said.
Times
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
‘Unreliable' UK not told in advance about Israel's attack on Iran
The UK was not officially informed about Israel's attack on Iran before it happened and provided no support to the mission, it is understood, highlighting the deteriorating relationship between the two countries. Diplomats said it appeared Israel no longer considered the UK to be a 'reliable partner' after Sir Keir Starmer placed sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers this week. Military planners inside the Ministry of Defence were braced for the strikes on Thursday night. However, the UK appeared to have been cut out of the loop on the operation, despite being involved in previous strikes. • US urges UK to reverse sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers An emergency Cobra meeting has been held to discuss the threat to British citizens in Iran and Israel. There is an ongoing review of whether the embassy should remain open in Tehran. The prime minister's spokesman confirmed 'the UK did not participate in Israel's strikes overnight', and MoD sources were quick to dispute any suggestion that the RAF had taken part in any military action to knock out Iranian drones. A senior government source said: 'They've clearly made the calculation [that] we are not a reliable partner.' David Lammy, the foreign secretary, had been due to travel to Washington DC on Friday, but the meeting was cancelled at the last minute. The United States said it was not involved in the attack, describing the Israeli action as unilateral, although that is likely to change if US personnel are targeted in the region. • Israel-Iran latest: further explosions heard at Fordow nuclear site In April last year, the UK deployed RAF Typhoons to help shoot down drones fired by Iran. The UK was also involved to a more limited extent last October during a ballistic missile attack by Tehran. On Monday, the government was concerned enough to hold a 'war game', led by Lammy, in which departments played out the possibility of a massive Israeli attack on Iran. Military personnel are understood to have taken part. A military source said the primary concern in London was for the safety of British citizens currently in Tehran, and British citizens in Israel. There are also fears that British shipping could be targeted by the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen. The senior government source said the UK was having to 'walk a diplomatic tight rope' and the priority was the staff in Tehran. The UK government has hardened its stance on Israel and Starmer said earlier today: 'The reports of these strikes are concerning and we urge all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently. Escalation serves no one in the region. Stability in the Middle East must be the priority and we are engaging partners to de-escalate. Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy.' Earlier in the week the far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich were banned from entering the UK and will have any assets in the UK frozen as part of the measures announced by Lammy. The sanctions were imposed over 'repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities' in the occupied West Bank. Starmer was expected to discuss the attacks with Netanyahu in a call on Friday. A Downing Street spokesman said the UK was prepared to take 'every diplomatic step' to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons.
Zawya
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
GCC chief meets UK foreign secretary
LONDON: Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Al-Budaiwi said the GCC member states and the United Kingdom enjoy deep-rooted historical relations and strategic partnership. The strategic partnership brought the viewpoints of both sides closer to each other, Al-Budaiwi said in a press release following his meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London on Thursday. The two sides maintain similar views on several regional issues, which contributed to security and stability on regional and international levels, he pointed out. The meeting with Secretary Lammy dealt with the GCC-UK relations and a number of regional and international issues, Al-Budaiwi, said, voicing hope for opening new horizons for cooperation.
Bloomberg
11-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
China's Mega-Embassy Faces Its MAGA Nemesis
Treading an independent path between two superpowers in a fracturing world was never going to be easy. The Labour government of Keir Starmer hasn't been deflected from its pursuit of better economic relations with China, even after President Donald Trump started a tariff offensive aimed at isolating the US's biggest rival. A two-century-old Georgian building opposite the Tower of London may be where the wheels finally come off Britain's delicate maneuvering. The White House has warned the British government against allowing a Chinese embassy to be situated at the former Royal Mint, the Sunday Times reported. The newspaper cited a senior US official as saying it was 'deeply concerned' about giving China potential access to nearby communications cables that are critical to the UK's financial-services industry. Politicians in the Netherlands have also raised concerns over the potential impact that Chinese interceptions of data traffic could have on the security and integrity of Dutch financial institutions.
