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James Cleverly refused to comment on whether he raised the case of a parliamentary researcher being arrested for allegedly spying for China when he visited the country in August.Speaking to Laura Kuennsberg on Sunday (17 September), the foreign secretary said: “On intelligence and security matters we do not comment.”“You can keep asking and I keep giving the same answer,” Mr Cleverly added.The researcher was arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing in March.He has denied the allegations in a statement released through his lawyers, saying that he had spent his career trying to “educate others” about the “threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party”. More

Sir Keir Starmer has responded to Penny Mordaunt calling him “beach Ken with no balls” during a Commons business statement this week.The leader of the House of Commons was responding to the Labour leader calling Rishi Sunak “inaction man” over his record in government.Speaking to Sky News on Sunday (17 September) Sir Keir said: “When a government has completely run out of energy and ideas… they go down this rabbit hole of ridiculous insults.”The comment was “water off a duck’s back,” he added. More

The government has invested “significantly” on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), Steve Barclay has said amid claims that Rishi Sunak blocked plans to rebuild hospitals affected by crumbling concrete in 2020.A report by The Guardian said that only two of seven hospital rebuilding projects were approved by the Treasury at the time when the now-health secretary was Mr Sunak’s chief secretary.“We’ve been following the institute for structural engineers’ advice which is that not all Raac has to be replaced,” Mr Barclay said.“This government has the biggest ever in the history of the NHS investment in the NHS estate,” he added. More

The government is committed to the triple lock on pensions, Rishi Sunak insisted at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 13 September.The triple lock guarantees an increase in line with average earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent, whichever is highest – meaning that pensioners would have been in line for a rise linked to wages from April.However, pensioners may not get an 8.5 per cent increase in the state pension next year as ministers try to limit the cost to the taxpayer. More

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Rishi Sunak of “presiding over mayhem” after Daniel Abed Khalife allegedly escaped from HMP Wandsworth last week.At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 13 September, the Labour leader cited comments from the prisons watchdog, who said Wandsworth “really needs closing.”The suspected terrorist, 21, allegedly fled in a chef’s outfit by using straps to cling onto a food delivery van.Khalife appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday after being captured and charged with escaping from prison. He was remanded in custody. More

Angela Rayner has refused to commit to Labour keeping the state pensions triple lock, telling BBC Breakfast on Tuesday (12 September) that the party would “not make unfunded spending commitments” before a general election.Ms Rayner’s comments came as ONS figures showed that wages in the UK continued to surge at a record pace.The total earnings rise is used to determine the “triple lock” guarantee for the state pension, which commits the government to increase the state pension by whichever is highest, wage growth, inflation or 2.5 per cent. More

China has told the UK to “stop spreading false information” over a parliamentary researcher who was arrested on suspicion of spying for the country.Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a press conference on Monday (11 September) that the allegation is “pure fabrication.”“We urge the UK… to stop its anti-China political manipulation and malicious slander,” she added.The man, who has not identified himself, has released a statement through his lawyers in which he denies being a “Chinese spy,” adding that he has spent his career trying to “educate others” about the “threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party”. More