Keir Starmer ‘concerned’ about risks China poses amid spy revelations | Politics | News

Sir Keir Starmer said the Government was “concerned about the challenge that China poses” in response to questions about the alleged spy with close links to the Duke of York.

At a press conference in Norway, the Prime Minister was asked about the case of the alleged spy known as H6 who had close ties with the Duke of York.

Sir Keir said: “In relation to any discussions with Buckingham Palace there’s a long-standing convention in the United Kingdom that that’s never spoken about.

“But of course we are concerned about the challenge that China poses.”

He also defended his approach to engaging with Beijing, weeks after meeting the country’s president.

Sir Keir said: “Our approach is one of engagement, of co-operating where we need to co-operate, particularly on issues like climate change, to challenge where we must and where we should, particularly on issues like human rights and to compete when it comes to trade.

“That’s the strategic approach that we have set out as a UK Government. “

The suspect, known only as H6, is said to have become a “close” confidant of the Duke of York and has also been pictured with senior politicians including David Cameron and Theresa May.

Local government minister Mr McMahon told Times Radio: “It’s a concern for all of us that work in Parliament, that the trust has been breached in the way that it has, and that somebody has been found to slip through the net.

“That clearly is a concern. Whether or not that requires somebody being named in Parliament under parliamentary privilege, I think, is a separate matter.”

MPs could seek to use parliamentary privilege to reveal H6’s identity, but government minister Jim McMahon said the legal protection offered to parliamentarians should be used with caution.

Nigel Farage has said his Reform UK party is prepared to use parliamentary privilege to name the alleged agent, known only as H6, in the chamber unless the courts lift an anonymity order that protects his identity.

H6 was first excluded from Britain by then-home secretary Suella Braverman in 2023, when the Home Office said he was believed to have carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for the Chinese Communist Party.