Starmer must get on with scheme to protect UK from covert influence, says Sunak

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to “get up to speed” and implement schemes designed to protect the UK from covert foreign influence.

Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak used Prime Minister’s Questions to press his successor in Number 10 about concerns over China’s actions in the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong and UK universities.

He questioned why the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (Firs), designed to combat clandestine political activity by foreign agents in the UK, has yet to be implemented and why the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act has been put on hold.

Firs would require individuals to disclose who they are in an arrangement with, what activity they have been directed to undertake, and when the arrangement was made.

An update made to a Home Office factsheet in August said it was “no longer expected that the scheme’s requirements will come into force in 2024”.

Speaking at PMQs, Mr Sunak labelled China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine and said it supplies the “vast majority now of Russia’s imported military microelectronics and components, worsening the suffering of the Ukrainian people”.

He asked: “So can the Prime Minister confirm that he is prepared to sanction any Chinese business or individual involved in aiding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including secondary sanctions on financial institutions?”

Sir Keir replied: “Yes, and we’ve called for that in the past. We continue to do so, and I hope this is an issue where we can have unity across the House.”

Turning to Firs, Mr Sunak said: “The last government also established a new system of registration and monitoring to protect the UK from interference from foreign states, including China, Russia and Iran.

“It’s called the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, it was described as essential by MI5 in the fight to help keep Britain safe. But since the Prime Minister took office, he has halted its implementation. Why?”

Sir Keir replied: “That isn’t correct.”

“Furthermore, Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee has warned that British universities are increasingly a rich feeding ground for China to exert political influence over us.

“That’s why we passed the Freedom of Speech Act with new powers to help defend universities from this threat, but the new Education Secretary (Bridget Phillipson) has since blocked it.

“So can the Prime Minister tell us how without this tool the Government will prevent Chinese influence over our universities?”

Sir Keir said he did not think “party political points” should be made on security matters, adding: “In the last parliament we stood with the government on all questions of security and intelligence because it was important to the outside world that we did so.

“I worked with the security and intelligence services for five years prosecuting cases. I know first-hand the work that they do, as a lawyer. I know first-hand the work they do, as the Prime Minister.

“We support them in everything that we do and he knows that.”

Mr Sunak added: “Whether it’s the Firs scheme or Freedom of Speech Act these were new tools, new sets of powers that the previous government passed in order to give, whether it’s our universities or security services, the powers they need to tackle a growing threat.

“And we will, of course, continue to support the Government in protecting our national security, but do believe on this side of the House that those tools are needed and are concerned by reports that the Government has paused their implementation or indeed scrapped them.”

Earlier, Mr Sunak urged Sir Keir to “condemn China’s dangerous escalatory acts” in the Taiwan Strait.

He said: “Our allies are rightly concerned after worrying reports that the Government may have intervened to stop a visit to the UK by the former Taiwanese president.

“Can the Prime Minister confirm that the Foreign Secretary will use his meetings in Beijing this week to condemn China’s dangerous escalatory acts in the strait?”

Sir Keir replied: “The continued military activity in the strait is not conducive to peace and stability. Stability in the Taiwan Strait is in all of our interests.

“On the wider point that he raises, we will co-operate where we can as permanent members of the UN Security Council, issues like net zero, health and trade, compete where we have different interests, but challenge – the point he makes is absolutely right – where it’s needed to protect national security, human rights and our values, and we will put that challenge in.”

Sir Keir also said the release of British citizen Jimmy Lai, who was arrested in 2020 in Hong Kong during a crackdown on massive pro-democracy protests, is a priority for the Government.