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Starmer ally: Come clean on relations with China after spy row

It’s been a week where the politics of the Middle East and Britain’s relations with China have loomed large over Westminster.

For all the backslapping and goodwill of Sharm el-Sheikh, will the ceasefire and exchange of hostages and prisoners in Gaza pave the way for a political solution? What part could Britain play? And how will the row over the collapsed Chinese spy case play out at home as the blame game between the government, opposition and prosecutors continues to rumble on? What impact will it have on Keir Starmer’s attempts to boost economic relations with China?

Anne McElvoy talks to one of Westminster’s most prominent figures on foreign affairs, Emily Thornberry, who chairs the influential Foreign Affairs Select Committee of MPs. As one of Labour’s most senior backbenchers and a former shadow attorney general, she’s been unafraid to be a critical friend of Starmer. She’s also joined by Tim Ross, POLITICO’s chief political correspondent for Europe and the U.K., who’s been reporting on the reaction to President Trump’s Gaza peace plan and gauging the mood in Westminster over the row about Chinese espionage.

LP Staff Writers

Writers at Lord’s Press come from a range of professional backgrounds, including history, diplomacy, heraldry, and public administration. Many publish anonymously or under initials—a practice that reflects the publication’s long-standing emphasis on discretion and editorial objectivity. While they bring expertise in European nobility, protocol, and archival research, their role is not to opine, but to document. Their focus remains on accuracy, historical integrity, and the preservation of events and individuals whose significance might otherwise go unrecorded.

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