UK politics: Truss warns Vladimir Putin over Ukraine after MI6 chief says Russia poses ‘acute threat’

The head of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) has warned of China’s increasingly “assertive” stance in global affairs, and use of “debt traps and data traps” to secure influence.

Richard Moore, known to spies as C and who oversees the UK’s foreign intelligence apparatus, gave a rare broadcast interview on Tuesday morning, writes yours truly.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that while he believed that free societies possessed an advantage over authoritarian ones, “we need to be very robust in fighting our corner” and leverage “the entrepreneurial animal spirits” within science and techonology to keep pace with Beijing.

Top figures in Labour are still at each others’ throats over yesterday’s reshuffle.

Angela Rayner’s team complained the deputy leader had been blindsided by Keir Starmer’s changes to his front bench, though Sir Keir’s side disputed it.

Today, Lisa Nandy – who was moved to the “levelling up” brief from foreign – said she had not spoken to Ms Rayner since the party’s reshuffle was announced.

She told BBC Breakfast: “I have been too busy getting a team together and putting a plan together.”

She added: “I have been through a lot of reshuffles over the past 11 years.

“I think that the leader makes the decisions, the gaffer picks the team, that’s how it goes and that’s how it has always gone.

“Frankly, I couldn’t care less about the circus of who’s in, and who’s out, who’s up, who’s down, who knew, who didn’t.”

Ms Nandy is now shadowing Michael Gove, the levelling up, housing, communities, and local government secretary.

In her BBC interview, she added: “It’s a very long title that Michael Gove has concocted for himself. But essentially the job is to deliver on the broken promises of the last 11 years.”

Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused former Downing Street officials of hypocrisy for offering warnings on sleaze while taking “nice jobs” upon leaving office, writes Adam Forrest.

It follows an open letter from every living ex-cabinet secretary urging Boris Johnson to get behind widespread standards reforms at Westminster.

But Mr Rees-Mogg dismissed the advice of the “saintly” former top civil servants who have taken “well-paid” roles after stepping down from government.

MI6 chief Richard Moore has warned that China’s intelligence officers are mounting “large-scale” spying operations against the UK and its allies, in a speech previewed earlier this morning.

Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Mr Moore said China’s growing assertiveness posed a “serious challenge” to global peace.

He said there is a real risk that Chinese “over-confidence” could lead to conflict.

“The Chinese intelligence services are highly capable and continue to conduct large-scale espionage operations against the UK and our allies,” he said.

“Beijing’s growing military strength and the party’s desire to resolve the Taiwan issue, by force if necessary, also pose a serious challenge to global stability and peace.

“The Chinese Communist Party increasingly favour decisive action justified on national security grounds. Beijing believes its own propaganda about Western frailties and under-estimates Washington’s resolve. The risk of Chinese miscalculation through over-confidence is real.”

Chinese espionage activities included “targeting those working in government, industries or research of particular interest to the Chinese state”, Mr Moore said.

He added: “They also monitor and attempt to influence over the Chinese diaspora. Chinese intelligence officers seek to exploit the open nature of our society, including through the use of social media platforms to facilitate their operations.

“We are concerned by the Chinese government’s attempts to distort public discourse and political decision-making across the globe.”

The UK is “not taking its share” of asylum seekers and France will not accept planned operations to force small boats out of British waters, its interior minister has said.

Gerald Darmanin told a press conference that thousands of people were crossing the English Channel in dinghies because “they have no other way” of reaching the UK, writes Lizzie Dearden.

He said that France would not accept pushbacks at sea, or joint patrols involving British authorities to stop boats from being launched.

Liz Truss has warned Vladimir Putin it would be a “strategic mistake” for Russia to launch an incursion into Ukraine.

As Nato foreign ministers gathered in Latvia, the foreign secretary said: “We want a world where freedom and democracy don’t just survive, they thrive.

“To this end, we will stand with our fellow democracies against Russia’s malign activity.

“We will support Ukraine and stability in the western Balkans, to safeguard their security and build their economic resilience.

“We have seen this playbook from the Kremlin before when Russia falsely claimed its illegal annexation of Crimea was a response to Nato aggression. Nato is an alliance forged on the principle of defence, not provocation. Any suggestion that Nato is provoking the Russians is clearly false.

“Any action by Russia to undermine the freedom and democracy that our partners enjoy would be a strategic mistake.”

Earlier, Richard Moore, the SIS chief, had said Russia’s moves on Ukraine were proving to be a “chronic problem”.

He told the BBC: “From time to time we get sort of crises around Ukraine as we worry about build-up of troops and what President Putin’s intentions might be, and therefore it bears very careful watching and it bears very careful signalling to the Russians about, you know, the price that they would have to pay if they intervened, as they did in 2014.

“And, at the same time, frankly, being very clear that again there’s not an adversarial sort of agenda here. We’re not trying to encircle Russia, we’re not trying to prevent it from pursuing its legitimate interest.”

The puzzle was always why Keir Starmer left Yvette Cooper on the back benches in the first place, writes John Rentoul.

I suspect it was partly because he took too much advice from Ed Miliband, whose partnership with Ed Balls, Cooper’s husband, was a difficult one.

But Miliband’s influence is on the wane, as suggested by his loss of the shadow business secretary half of his previous role, leaving him shadowing Alok Sharma on climate change.

Lisa Nandy has dismissed claims that Keir Starmer snubbed Angela Rayner with the timing of his frontbench reshuffle, insisting it does not matter “who knew” about it, writes Rob Merrick.

Allies of Labour’s deputy leader were furious that the shake-up began as she was making a key speech on a sleaze crackdown – and that she first read about it in a newspaper.

Downing Street has set itself against Jenny Harries’ advice to avoid unnecessary socialising over the Christmas period.

The head of the UK Health Security Agency had suggested people keeping to themselves this winter could help slow the spread of the new omicron variant of coronavirus.

Asked if Dr Harries’ view was shared by Boris Johnson, the PM’s spokesperson told reporters: “No. Our advice to the public is as set out at the weekend.

“We have put advice out on face coverings and on inward travellers and those who are identified as having the omicron variant of coronavirus. Beyond that we haven’t set out any further guidance to the public.”

Asked if people should follow what he was saying or what Dr Harries was saying, the spokesperson said: “The public should follow the guidance as set out by the government and indeed the prime minister at the weekend.”

Boris Johnson is set to hold a Downing Street Covid briefing on Tuesday amid concerns over the spread of the omicron variant.

The address, due to take place at 4pm, comes after the government introduced new measures to tackle the spread of omicron, which was first detected in the country over the weekend.