Pressure on Downing Street to release evidence in collapsed China spy case
Downing Street is under pressure to publish its evidence in the collapsed China spy case after the Crown Prosecution Service denied having blocked its release,Keir Starmer is likely to come under scrutiny at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday after the CPS said it was up to the government to release the evidence,The government has faced mounting pressure over its handling of the collapsed trial of Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, a teacher,Both men, who deny wrongdoing, had been accused of passing secrets to China, but charges against them were dropped last month,The latest row came after sources within No 10 claimed Chris Wormald, the cabinet secretary, had gone to the CPS to discuss the publication of a witness statement central to the withdrawal of espionage charges against the two British men.
It was that witness statement by Matthew Collins, the deputy national security adviser, that the CPS deemed did not meet the threshold for proceeding with the trial of the two alleged spies because it did not show China posed a threat to national security at the time the alleged offences occurred.Prosecutors concluded during their meeting with Wormald – the country’s most senior civil servant – that publishing the evidence outside of a courtroom would be “inappropriate”, senior sources said.But a CPS spokesperson denied the government’s claims.“The statements were provided to us for the purpose of criminal proceedings which are now over,” they said.“The material contained in them is not ours, and it is a matter for the government, independently of the CPS, to consider whether or not to make that material public.
”The Liberal Democrats urged the government to now publish Collins’s witness statement.Calum Miller, the party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, said: “If ministers have nothing to hide they have nothing to fear.Failure to come clean will just confirm people’s suspicions of a cover-up and that ministers are more worried about cosying up to China than protecting our national security.”Starmer has heaped praise on Collins, amid accusations he was being thrown under the bus for providing the government’s evidence in the case.Collins’s name was mentioned in the Commons by the security minister Dan Jarvis on Monday, sparking criticism from the Tories that the government was initiating a blame game.
According to a readout, Starmer told his cabinet on Tuesday Collins was a “highly respected securocrat” who made “every effort” to support the case in court.“But of course, all of the evidence provided by him was based on the law at the time of the offence and the policy position of the government at the time of the offence,” the prime minister’s official spokesperson added.The chief prosecutor for England and Wales, Stephen Parkinson, previously blamed the government for failing to provide evidence that would support the assertion that China represented a threat to national security.Starmer has denied that the Labour government was responsible for the decision to drop the charges against Cash and Berry, and blamed the Conservatives’ approach to China in power.
Adani denies claims it sold ‘below-market coal’ leading to Queensland missing out on hundreds of millions in royalties
Adani has consistently sold coal from its Queensland mine far below market rates, according to claims made in new analysis, potentially reducing the royalties owed to the state government by hundreds of millions of dollars.The research director at the Australia Institute, Rod Campbell, calculated that Adani sold thermal coal from its Carmichael mine at an average of just over $A100 a tonne during the 2023 to 2025 financial years – its first three full years of operation.Sign up: AU Breaking News emailThe period saw huge coal price spikes after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Australian benchmark prices surging above $A600/t in late 2022, before moderating.Even allowing for discounted prices for Adani’s lower-quality coal, Campbell said the difference between the “realised price and expected market price is huge”.“This discrepancy means that royalty payments were far lower than might have been expected
Don’t give in to big pharma on drug pricing | Letters
While the chief executive of Eli Lilly may lament the UK’s drug prices (UK is ‘worst country in Europe’ for drug prices, says Mounjaro maker, 24 September), the NHS should celebrate them. The system put in place for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of new drugs is respected the world over and is successful in applying the principle that funding a new product should not damage the NHS as a whole. This principle of cost-effectiveness has led to widespread price reductions for the NHS that have allowed the service as a whole to benefit.The chief executive of Eli Lilly links the recent pausing or cancelling of pharmaceutical industry investments in the UK to drug pricing here, when these are down to the drug companies’ desperation to kowtow to Donald Trump.Further to this, the talk of increasing Nice’s cost-effectiveness threshold, and even index-linking this, is a disgrace (NHS could pay 25% more for medicines under plan to end row with drugmakers and Trump, 8 October)
Driverless taxis from Waymo will be on London’s roads next year, US firm announces
People in London could be hiring driverless taxis from Waymo next year, after the US autonomous vehicle company announced plans to launch its services there.The UK capital will become the first European city to have an autonomous taxi service of the kind now familiar in San Francisco and four other US cities using Waymo’s technology.The launch pits an innovation sometimes dubbed the “robotaxi” against London’s famous black cabs, which can trace their history back to the first horse-drawn hackney coaches of the Tudor era.But a representative of the capital’s cab drivers said they were not concerned by the arrival of a “fairground ride” and questioned the reliability of driverless vehicles.Waymo said its cars were now on their way to London and would start driving on the capital’s streets in the coming weeks with “trained human specialists”, or safety drivers, behind the wheel
iPhone Air review: Apple’s pursuit of absolute thinness
The iPhone Air is a technical and design marvel that asks: how much are you willing to give up for a lightweight and ultra-slender profile?The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Beyond the obvious engineering effort that has gone into creating one of the slimmest phones ever made, the Air is a reductive exercise that boils down the iPhone into the absolute essentials in a premium body.Cut away the rear cameras, slim down the battery, remove the stereo speakers and maximise the screen, and what is left is an impressive sliver of titanium and glass
Could Trump really move World Cup games? The facts behind his threats
Which time? Tuesday was the second time Trump has threatened to take away World Cup games from US host cities on the basis of their political leadership or opposition to his policies. However, it’s important to note that this suggestion of moving games is not something Trump has suggested organically, of his own volition. In both cases, the US president was responding to leading questions centered around the idea of moving games. On 25 September in an Oval Office event, a member of the White House press corps asked Trump about cities that have demonstrated against Trump’s use of federal agencies for immigration and crime crackdowns. The reporter mentioned Seattle and San Francisco as two cities that have seen demonstrations, and pointed out that both cities are World Cup hosts (though San Francisco is not a host city, but part of the San Francisco Bay Area that will host games at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara)
Rain saves England at Women’s World Cup and ruins Pakistan hopes of historic win
Pakistan came agonisingly close to a first one-day international win against England in Colombo on Wednesday, reaching 34 without loss in pursuit of a DLS-adjusted target of 113 before torrential downpours curtailed their hopes of making history.England’s batting has lurched from one disaster to another during this World Cup – they had to be bailed out by Heather Knight against Bangladesh and by Nat Sciver-Brunt against Sri Lanka – and it looked like their frailties would return as they collapsed to 79 for seven in the opening 25 overs.After an initial rain delay of almost four hours, England returned to add 54 further runs – but Pakistan’s openers Muneeba Ali and Omaima Sohail looked to be making short work of the chase, assisted by the absence of strike bowlers Lauren Bell and Sophie Ecclestone through illness. Only further rain saved England’s blushes.“Pakistan bowled brilliantly and made it really hard for us to get into the game at all,” the England captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, told Sky Sports
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