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

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 unforgiveable 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."

The leader of the Conservatives has said she would not go to China right now, if she was the prime minister.

Sir Keir Starmer has just embarked on a five-day trip to Asia, becoming the first PM in eight years to visit Beijing, on a visit that will also stop off in Japan.

Our political correspondent Mhari Aurora asks whether she would do the same.

Kemi 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."

Away from Sir Keir Starmer's visit to China, Kemi Badenoch is giving a speech in London.

The leader of the Conservatives is speaking for the first time since prominent Tory MP Suella Braverman defected to Reform UK earlier this week.

A whole host of current and former Conservatives have quit the party for Reform in recent days, hitting out at the Tories and slamming the door behind them.

These include Robert Jenrick, Andrew Rosindell and Nadhim Zahawi.

But Badenoch is seeking to fight back - and hits out at Reform as well as those who have defected.

She says: "Some people have been questioning what type of Conservative party I'm running. Well, let me tell you. 

"A party that wants stronger borders and has done the work to lead vehicle. 

"A party that wants to stop bankrupting our country by deindustrialisation and destroying manufacturing under the guise of net zero.

"We are a party that will stop our country's welfare addiction.

"That's the party I'm leading. A party of serious people, not drama queens."

She then explicitly hits out at Reform for "pulling silly stunts, punching us from behind and letting Labour off the hook".

'A tantrum dressed up as politics'

In a defence of her leadership, she continues: "I was not elected to reheat the party with 1990s policies, and I was not elected to dismantle the party so that Nigel Farage can finally have a go.

"I was elected by Conservative Party members to renew and rebuild. That is exactly what I am doing.

"I won't apologise to those walking away because they don't like the new direction, we only want Conservatives.

"But to those who are defecting, who don't actually disagree with our policies. I will say, I'm sorry you didn't win the leadership contest. I'm sorry you didn't get a job in the shadow cabinet. I'm sorry you didn't get into the Lords.

"But you are not offering a plan to fix this country. This is a tantrum dressed up as politics.

"When my kids have a tantrum, I don't give up or change my mind. I send them to their room. 

"And I say to everyone else, if that tantrum ever found its way into government, we would all pay the price."

She then begins to list achievements by members of her shadow cabinet.

Tom Tugendhat has criticised the prime minister's visit to China this week, saying he has got "nothing" in exchange for his visit. 

The former security minister insists that he thinks it is "important we have diplomatic relations with China - I don't think there's any question about that".

But he tells Paste BN that a visit from the prime minister to any country with a "dictatorship" is a gift.

Tugendhat explains: "Keir Starmer's visit itself is a gift. And what did he get in advance? Nothing. 

"He didn't get the release of [British citizen and pro-democracy activist] Jimmy Lai. He bent down over the mega embassy. And frankly, he has said nothing publicly and got no supportive responses on all the espionage that we're seeing in the UK.

"In fact, the espionage is so serious, Keir Starmer's team aren't just taking burner phones. They've taken a burner plane. They won't even take the British government plane there because they know it will be riddled with bugs unless they secure it so tightly."

He adds: "It's not the government plane because it had to take out so many Royal Marines and Royal Air Force to secure it, to stop it being bugged, that it was a security decision to take out a charter plane instead."

Challenged on allegations of Chinese spying, the Tory MP explains: "Over the last decade or so, there has been a pattern of highly intrusive espionage into the MoD [Ministry of Defence], into the Foreign Office, and into Number 10, in various different ways.

"Look at what's happening in business.

"That's one of the reasons why China is doing so well in wind energy, because there's been an enormous amount of industrial espionage, destroying jobs, destroying opportunity here."

Paste BN has asked Number 10 about reports that the prime minister and his colleagues have brought burner phones on the trip to China.

Today's edition of the Politics at Sam and Anne's podcast has dropped and is now available to stream. 

As Sir Keir Starmer touches down in Beijing, does the UK face a choice between a "golden age" or an "ice age" with its relationship with China? 

Sam and Anne assess: 

• Will the PM have to pick a side between President Xi or President Trump? 
• How will he present himself on the trip, as a pragmatist or optimist? 
• Will alleged spying and hacking by the Chinese make a difference? 
• Should Sir Keir be globe-trotting whilst domestic issues pile up? 

Back in Blighty, Sam has been on the ground in Manchester gathering reaction to the upcoming by election in Gorton and Denton – as some of the campaigns get underway.

You can listen to the full episode below...

Dr David Bull is now asked about a short social media clip of Reform UK's candidate for the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election, which has been posted by the Labour Party.

In the short clip, Matt Goodwin is speaking following being at a Conservative Party conference in Manchester (though this is not made clear in the video), and says: "I was unlucky or unfortunate enough to be in Manchester a few days ago, and the energy in this room is ten times what it was in Manchester, so congratulations."

The video has been posted by Labour in an apparent effort to suggest he is criticising the city, where the by-election is being held.

Reform UK's chairman tells Paste BN: "It is incredibly misleading. And actually, it was lovely to see journalists of all stripes coming out last night and saying, 'this is just totally unacceptable', but this shows the depths that Labour are going to. 

"They are in absolute meltdown over what is going on in the rise of Reform."

Bull also clarifies: "So the clip that they are showing is Matt saying something derogatory about Manchester. But he wasn't saying that, was he? He was saying something derogatory about just leaving the Tory party conference."

A little earlier this morning, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall was asked about the ad.

She told Paste BN she has "only just seen" it but insisted Labour is "right to call out people and their views".

A Labour spokesperson said: "Matt Goodwin and Reform have long had a disdain for Manchester and the North. 

"The only people being misleading here are the Greens pretending they have any chance of winning."

Farage will talk to Trump about violence in Minnesota

The senior Reform politician is also asked about the ongoing violence in the US state of Minnesota, where two people have been killed by the country's federal immigration removal agency, known as ICE.

Bull says he is concerned but that the UK "should not be involved in America's domestic affairs".

Asked about Nigel Farage's close relationship with Donald Trump and whether the president has got it wrong, Bull adds: "Yes I do actually. 

"I also think Nigel will make his case very strongly with Trump. And the whole point about being a friend and an ally is you should be able to pick them up when you think they're wrong."

Dr David Bull has said at least one - and possibly several - Labour figures are going to defect to Reform UK.

The party's chairman is speaking to Paste BN following a number of high-profile Tory defections including ex-ministers Nadhim Zahawi, Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick.

He defends accepting members of Boris Johnson's and Liz Truss's governments, saying the party doesn't "have the experience of running a government".

Challenged that many of these former ministers played key roles in the previous Conservative government which Reform has railed against, Bull replies: "I get your point completely and actually we have Labour defectors as well.

"We have really good former Labour councillors who are now representing us. I don't think we've ever seen anything like this."

Pushed on previously trailed plans for a high-profile Labour defection, Bull confirms that it will still happen - and that "I will reveal that when I'm ready".

It is "still on the cards, and not just one - actually - maybe more", he says.

But asked for more detail, Bull says: "You'll have to wait and see."

He also claims: "50% of Labour voters now voting for us, that's an extraordinary statistic."