Politics latest: Starmer arrives in China - amid Burnham by-election row

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper asks her first question about China.

She wants to know what steps the government will take against Beijing if it does "not stop their campaign of espionage and repression?".

She also raises the case of pro-democracy campaigner and media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

The 78-year-old British citizen was arrested in August 2020 after China imposed a national security law following massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong. 

The deputy prime minister replies by saying that lots of leaders - Macron, Trump, Merz, Carney - are all "visiting and engaging" with China.

He repeats the Labour government's line that the UK will "cooperate where we can" with China, and "challenge in areas where we disagree".

Cooper uses her second question to call for more defence spending, funded by a new kind of bond.

Lammy responds by saying the Lib Dems, in the coalition government, cut the defence budget.

Andrew Griffith now uses his fifth (of six) questions to hit out at the government's Employment Rights Act, chiefly championed by former deputy PM Angela Rayner.

The shadow business secretary argues that "every Labour government leaves office with unemployment when they arrived".

He continues: "They don't understand what it takes to be an employer. They don't understand business. 

"They're strangling business with their red tape, and they're about to make things infinitely worse."

He asks what the cost of the act will be.

The current deputy PM, David Lammy, responds: "I'm going to take no lectures from you on business. 

"My father ran out of business under the Thatcher government. I know what it's like to grow up under a Tory government."

He then pivots into a series of jokes about MPs defecting from the Conservative - and labels Nigel Farage's threat to decline any defections from the Tories after 7 May the "Tory transfer window".

"It's going to be the longest and most disloyal transfer saga since Sol Campbell left Spurs," says Lammy - a Tottenham Hotspur fan.

On defections, Griffith hits back: "It's our party that is getting stronger."

Lammy stands up and says Griffith is "not going to get this gig [filling in for Badenoch] again, is he?"

He then makes further jokes about defections and rounds off by citing work the government is doing to reduce the cost of living.

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith uses his next set of questions to needle the deputy prime minister on the cost of hiring a 21-year-old, and how much it has gone up under Labour.

David Lammy hits back to say one in eight young people were not in work or education when the Tories left office.

Griffith counters with a bit of name-calling, branding his opponent "left-behind Lammy", with the prime minister and business secretary in China.

He adds that hiring a 21-year-old is now £3,600 more expensive than it was at the election in 2024.

The Tory makes a quip about "Andy from Manchester having his dreams crushed by Labour" - a reference to Andy Burnham being blocked from standing as an MP.

Lammy claims there are 500,000 more people in work than a year ago under Labour.

Andrew Griffith uses his first question to raise the government's reforms to business rates, which were announced yesterday.

The shadow business and trade secretary is filling in for Kemi Badenoch, who is not taking part as Sir Keir Starmer is abroad, making this deputy PMQs (DPMQs) instead.

Griffith says: "After the chancellor's U-turn yesterday, can the deputy prime minister confirm that over 90% of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will get nothing yet?"

David Lammy, who is filling in for the PM, leaps back to his feet and jokes about Griffith's support for former PM Liz Truss's mini budget.

Answering the question, he then responds: "Business rates of pubs and music venues will be cut by 15% this year and frozen for the next two years, and we'll review the methodology for valuing pubs in the future. 

"I must say that that contrasts with the party opposite, who saw 7,000 pubs closed under their watch," he adds.

But Griffith hits back, calling the reforms "too little, too late", and saying Labour doesn't know "anything about business".

"Our high streets are bleeding out and the chancellor's handing out a box of sticking plasters," he insists.

"They can't even U-turn properly." 

The deputy prime minister responds by citing Griffith's opposition to the increase in the minimum wage.

"It changes lives and Labour is proud of how we're supporting small businesses," Lammy adds.

Sir Keir Starmer has said the situation in the US state of Minnesota is "obviously concerning".

It follows ICU nurse Alex Pretti being shot at least ten times in five seconds by a member of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency on Saturday.

The 37-year-old was killed in Minneapolis just weeks after a mother of three was shot by another member of ICE.

Both shootings have led to high tensions in the city, while US President Donald Trump has said the shooting of Pretti was "very unfortunate".

During the prime minister's flight to China on Tuesday evening, Starmer was asked about the second shooting - which was partially caught on camera by other protesters.

He responded: "Well, I'm not going to give a running commentary on what's happening in other countries. 

"I haven't seen all of the details, but what I have seen is obviously very concerning.

"I don't think anybody could see some of the footage and not say it's concerning, but I'm not claiming to have seen all the footage and all the detail.

"But of what I have seen, I'd say it's concerning."

David Lammy is shortly due in the Commons, where he will be standing in for Sir Keir Starmer.

It's Wednesday and almost midday, which means it's time for PMQs - or DPMQs (Deputy Prime Minister's Questions) as it will be known today.

But what do you do when the prime minister is on an historic visit to China? Send in the deputy.

Deputy prime minister - and justice secretary - David Lammy will be answering questions on behalf of the government, but we're not sure who his chief inquisitor will be today.

While Kemi Badenoch is in London, this will be deputy PMQs - DPMQs - which means by convention, Badenoch will not take part.

Instead, a member of the frontbench will take on her role, with the Tories under Badenoch rotating the job so they each get a turn.

As usual, the Liberal Democrats will get their two questions, plus a whole host of MPs have been successful in the ballot to get a turn to ask a question of their own - including Reform UK's Lee Anderson.

But it's expected to be a lower-key affair than usual, with the big beasts of British politics away from the chamber.

Here is the list of backbenchers selected for a question:

• Anneliese Midgley (Knowsley) 
• Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham)
• John Slinger (Rugby) 
• Mr Alex Barros-Curtis (Cardiff West)
• Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth)
• Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) 
• John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) 
• Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) 
• Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) 
• Lee Anderson (Ashfield)
• Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham North)
•  Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
• James McMurdock (South Basildon and East Thurrock) 
• Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) 
• Bob Blackman (Harrow East)

Campaigners have called on Sir Keir Starmer not to "abandon principle in pursuit of profit" during his visit to Beijing.

This morning (this evening in China), the PM has arrived in China - the first UK leader to do so in eight years. 

But Human Rights Watch, a non-profit, has called on the prime minister to raise the case of jailed British citizen and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai.

He was arrested in Hong Kong in 2020 after China imposed a national security law following massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

Yasmine Ahmed, the group's UK director, said: "At the very least, he [Starmer] needs to publicly press Xi for the release of Jimmy Lai and speak up for the dramatic erasure of freedoms in Hong Kong.

"If Starmer leaves human rights concerns at the door, not only would it weaken Britain's hand and diminish its standing, but it could leave the UK vulnerable to economic pressure in the future."

She added that "having guardrails in place" is not just about ethics, but also about the UK's "long-term economic and security interests".

"Starmer should ensure that British values underpin any and all engagement with China, and central to these are a belief in universal human rights and the rule of law," Ahmed concluded. 

Human Rights Watch are a group of lawyers, journalists and local experts who investigate human rights abuses and lobby governments and businesses to change policies.

On the flight over to China, the PM told journalists: "Part of the reason for engaging with China is so that issues where we disagree can be discussed, and the issues where we agree can be progressed, and so that's the approach."

But Starmer added that he was "not going to get ahead of myself".

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has said she would not have gone to China because she doesn't "think that this is the time to do that".

Labour has now responded to Kemi Badenoch's speech, saying that "nobody is listening to the dying Tory party".

The Conservative leader's address mostly took aim at Reform UK, and those from her party defecting to Nigel Farage's outfit - while also bolstering her own leadership credentials.

But a Labour Party spokesperson said: "Kemi Badenoch refuses to apologise for the unforgivable mess her party left behind in government, or the damage they inflicted on family finances.

"The public will not trust arsonists complaining about the fire they set. 

"The Conservatives are not serious, they're not sorry, and are too consumed with holding together their terminally broken party."

Lib Dems offer home to 'those let down by the old two parties'

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have also run with the arsonist theme.

The party's deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, said: "Badenoch calling for new Conservative candidates to fix the economy is like an arsonist running a firefighter recruitment drive.

"The Liberal Democrats will offer a home to all those let down by the old two parties and who believe in British values of decency, tolerance and the rule of law."

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has said she would not go to China right now, if she were the prime minister.

Sir Keir Starmer has just embarked on a five-day trip to China and Japan, becoming the first PM in eight years to visit Beijing.

Our political correspondent Mhari Aurora asks whether the Tory leader would do the same, if she were in Starmer's shoes.

Badenoch replies: "I would start by having an actual foreign policy. 

"Keir Starmer is going to China, but he doesn't have a clear agenda. He's just running around. I know I said previously that he was like a plastic bag blowing with the wind. 

"We have a huge trading relationship with China, but it is also a threat to our country.

"Keir Starmer doesn't really know how to deal with China. My worry is that he's going there with a begging bowl. 

"That super embassy should not have been approved. We have a case of alleged spying which should have gone through. 

"That is what worries me. That we have a prime minister who is weak, who cannot negotiate."

PM must 'show strength' during visit

Having not answered whether she would go to China, Badenoch is asked again. 

This time, she replies clearly: "No, not now, because I don't think that this is the time to do that. 

"We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.

"We should be talking more to those countries who are aligned with our interests, not the country that is doing everything it can to undermine our economy."

She also calls on Starmer "to show strength", criticising his decision to approve plans for a new Chinese embassy in London. 

"He looks like he gives way every time things get difficult - and that is the difference between Keir Starmer and myself," she concludes.

Kemi Badenoch now launches a call for the "next generation of MPs".

The Conservative Party leader announced she is "looking for excellence - excellence in standards, in conduct, in ability, discipline, culture".

She adds: "We are building an army that is going to deliver meritocracy, dismantle the bureaucratic class and get Britain working again.

"It is hard to get on our candidates list. And it should be because when people see the next generation of conservative MPs, they will see the best of the best."

In a further dig at Reform UK, she adds: "Unlike some parties full of people who start problems and run away. I am building a party full of people with answers."

She concludes: "It is time for that next generation of politicians.

"We're about people uniting behind the right solutions. Come and join my new Conservative Party and help us get Britain working again."