Kemi Badenoch’s attack lines backfired on her…
Keir Starmer hit back at Kemi Badenoch’s claims during Prime Minister’s Questions that the Labour government was responsible for the collapse of the China spy case.
Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry were charged with allegedly spying for China between 2021 and 2023. They have both consistently maintained their innocence.
The case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service last week because evidence could not be obtained from the government referring to China as a national security threat.
Badenoch has accused the Labour government of a “cover up”. Today at PMQs, she said that it was “simply unbelievable” that the case collapsed before going to trial.
The Tory leader pressed Starmer, furiously asking: “How is it possible that the government failed to provide the evidence that the CPS needed to prosecute?”.
Badenoch also claimed that the two alleged spies were “charged under a Conservative government and let off under Labour”.
Badenoch’s question backfired on her, as Starmer reminded her: “The substantive evidence was provided in 2023 by the previous government. That is when the witness statement was submitted.”
Starmer said he will publish the government’s witness statements in full.
Starmer then read out statements that she and former foreign secretary James Cleverly made about China, in which they refused to classify China as a threat.
During a speech about the previous government’s policy on China, he quoted Cleverly saying: “‘Summing up China as a threat in one word would be’, in his words ‘impossible, impractical and most importantly unwise’”.
He then cited comments Badenoch made when she was business secretary in 2023: “‘We should certainly not be describing China as a foe’.”
“It’s worth looking up the word foe in the dictionary,” Starmer joked.
In September 2024, he quoted Badenoch as having said: “‘I have shied away from calling China a threat’”.
She then mocked Starmer, saying: “What is the point of us having a lawyer rather than a leader as prime minister when he can’t even get the law right on a matter of national security?”
Starmer tore apart Badenoch’s attack line again, saying: “She’s clearly not a lawyer or a leader. The problem for her is that I do actually know the law, I know what’s got to be proven.”
On LBC, James O’Brien and Natasha Clark analysed the head-to-head at PMQs today, with Clark saying: “You can’t out-lawyer Starmer, can you?”.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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