Kemi Badenoch has urged Labour MPs to “remove” Sir Keir Starmer from office over his “incompetence” in handling the China spy scandal.

Speaking on GB News, the Conservative Party leader told her Labour counterparts that if they had “any sense”, they would be making moves to ensure the Prime Minister is sent packing.

The Prime Minister confirmed on Wednesday that the Government will publish the witness statements “in full” submitted to the Chinese espionage trial.

Announcing his decision, Sir Keir told MPs during Prime Minister’s questions: “After legal advice, I have decided to publish the witness statements. Given the information contained, we will conduct a short process, but I want to make clear I intend to publish the witness statements in full.”

Delivering her verdict on Sir Keir’s statement in Parliament on the scandal, Mrs Badenoch told GB News: “I think that he has now misled the House repeatedly.

“Yesterday, he brought out this measly statement, knowing that he couldn’t be questioned on it because no one had seen it in advance.”

She added: “Normally a statement of that length, we would have had advance notice, but he also said that he was releasing witness statements that would prove his case. The witness statements prove our case.

“He said that the statements were based on Conservative Party policy, they were based on Labour Party policy. There were actually lines lifted from Labour manifesto put in there.”

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Criticising the publication of the witness statements further, Mrs Badenoch stated: “They were supposed to give evidence against China, they were praising China in their witness statements. No wonder the case has collapsed.”

Taking aim at the Prime Minister, the Tory leader accused Sir Keir of being unable to “defend us from our enemies”.

She told GB News: “This man cannot look after our national interests, he cannot defend us from our enemies, he’s too busy looking for ways to try and smear the Conservatives instead of doing the job that he’s been elected to do.

“And that’s the reason why he should go. He is weak and cannot do anything properly.”

Asked by host Dawn Neesom if it is “time for Keir Starmer to step down”, Mrs Badenoch made clear that the Labour Government has the power to remove him themselves.

She explained: “Unfortunately, last year people voted Labour in with a historic majority. He has a majority that’s bigger than all of the Conservative MPs combined, that means it’s going to be very hard to remove Labour. But Labour can remove Keir Starmer.

“If Labour MPs had any sense, they would be looking at what their Prime minister is doing, because he is covering all of them in his misleading the House, he is covering all of them in his incompetence and his ineptitude.

“He has changed his story again and again, and he has now confessed that there was a secret meeting with his political adviser, Jonathan Powell.”

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the case against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry in September after deeming the evidence did not show China was a threat to national security.

Both men, who deny wrongdoing, were accused of passing secrets to China, but the case against them was dropped in September.

Downing Street has said it would have been “absurd” for the Prime Minister to step in after being told the China spy case was going to collapse, stressing it was a “criminal matter” for the Crown Prosecution Service to handle independently.

Asked why Sir Keir Starmer did not intervene when the CPS informed him they would withdraw it, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The suggestion that the Prime Minister should have stepped in at this point is frankly absurd.

“If he was to do so he would have been interfering in a case related to a previous government, a previous policy, previous legislation.

“In a criminal matter it is the CPS and the DPP that, quite rightly, have independent responsibility for prosecuting cases in this country.”