New BTC inquiry: China and the UK Economy - what is the prize, and what is the price? - Committees - UK Parliament Today, as China’s National People’s Congress opens in Beijing, the Business and Trade Committee launches a major new inquiry into China and the UK economy.

📣 Call for evidence 📣

The @houseofcommons.parliament.uk Business & Trade Committee has launched an inquiry into China and the UK economy.

If you have expertise in this area - especially UK firms doing business with China - please consider contributing 👇

committees.parliament.uk/committee/36...

This 👇

Full Government response here: committees.parliament.uk/publications...

Original report: committees.parliament.uk/publications...

⚓ Explore options for the UK to ensure continued access to a UK-based and UK-flagged repair ship.

🌊 Work with the Crown Estate, the Crown Estate Scotland and industry to ensure that sufficient seabed space is designated for a diversity of future cable routes.

🔒 Write to cable landing station operators to emphasise the need for ‘robust security standards’ and ask them to produce repair plans within 12 months.

⚖️ Review legislation relating to subsea cables infrastructure. This will include a focus on strengthening routes for prosecution of cable damage.

The Government has said that it will:

🤿 Establish the Undersea Infrastructure Security Oversight Board to strengthen cross-Government co-ordination on the protection of critical undersea infrastructure.

🦺 Update impact assessments and strengthen contingency planning across critical sectors.

Government strengthens undersea cables coordination following Committee report - Committees - UK Parliament Government response: Undersea cables

🌊 Today the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) @houseofcommons.parliament.uk @houseoflords.parliament.uk has published the Government’s response to its report ‘Subsea telecommunications cables: resilience and crisis preparedness’. committees.parliament.uk/committee/11...

China spy case: Committee delivers verdict on circumstances around collapsed prosecution - Committees - UK Parliament Report: Espionage cases and the Official Secrets Acts­

Joint @houseofcommons.parliament.uk @houseoflords.parliament.uk Committee's report on the China spy case out now:

The Committee found 'evidence of a process “beset by confusion and misaligned expectations” that was at times “shambolic”.'

committees.parliament.uk/committee/11...

Europe sees China as a rival. China sees Europe as a has-been Yet China may be underestimating Europe’s willingness to push back

'Beijing, convinced that America calls the shots, might still miss what matters: Europe’s new anger is its own.'

www.economist.com/china/2025/1...

China intimidated UK university to ditch human rights research, documents show Sheffield Hallam University apologises to Professor Laura Murphy for restricting her academic freedom.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is absolutely terrible.

27 October 2025 - Espionage cases and the Official Secrets Acts - Oral evidence - Committees - UK Parliament 16:00 - Room 4A, Palace of Westminster

Important JCNSS session today - can be watched live here 4.30pm GMT onwards: parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...

committees.parliament.uk/event/25363/...

Update on select committee work relating to China spy case - Committees - UK Parliament The Chairs of the Home Affairs Committee, Justice Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee, Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, and the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Intelligence and Securi...

'There was a constructive discussion about the reasons for the recent dropping of charges against two individuals under the Official Secrets Act. Committees will now be considering what further action to take.' committees.parliament.uk/committee/11...

Read the Committee's report here: committees.parliament.uk/publications...

How a catastrophic attack on UK’s undersea cables could unfold Sir Keir Starmer has been warned he is running out of time to protect vital banking and NHS systems and that civil order could hang by a thread if they went down

Further to JCNSS's recent report on UK subsea cables, this from @thetimes.com: www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Sarah Mullally named as new Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah, a former chief nursing officer, was previously the first female Bishop of London.

Bonjour Priestess. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A massive thank you to all those who have generously contributed to this inquiry via written and oral evidence or informal discussions. Too many to name here, but you know who you are! 🙏

🚨 Work with industry to roll out integrated monitoring and alert systems

🦺 Develop better impact assessments and contingency plans across key sectors

🔒 Upgrade security at critical infrastructure sites

↔️ Improve governance of critical underwater infrastructure through a cross-government unit

It should:

💪 Deploy a more muscular military deterrent

🚢 Acquire a sovereign UK cable repair ship and train Royal Navy reservists in cable repair skills

⚖️ Explore ways of strengthening international legal frameworks to better prevent and punish malicious cable damage

☠️ However, it’s not clear how robust the system would be if a hostile state or non-state actor were to launch a co-ordinated attack.

🎯 The Government needs to do more to prepare for such an eventuality, and to mitigate the potential impact of the disruption to data to UK economy and society.

🌐 In the UK, we rely on data carried by subsea cable for every aspect of our lives.

🛠️ As things currently stand, the UK’s subsea cable network is resilient: plenty of redundant capacity, a diversity of cable routes, and quick repair times.

🌊New Report 🌊

Today the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy @houseofcommons.parliament.uk @houseoflords.parliament.uk publishes its report on Subsea telecommunications cables: resilience and crisis preparedness: publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt5901/jt...

Key points: 🧵

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, Tea Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss tea, the first truly global commodity.

My personal favourite episode: Tea 🍵 www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

The BBC’s best programme loses its star Melvyn Bragg is retiring from “In Our Time”

In Our Time is a national treasure ❤️ www.economist.com/britain/2025...

Chris Martin invites fan from China on stage at Hull Coldplay gig Raymond, 20, is invited onto the stage to sing with Chris Martin at Tuesday's gig in Hull.

UK-China relations is now guided by 4 Cs: Challenge, Compete, Cooperate, and Coldplay. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Schopenhauer’s East Asian Renaissance How a forgotten 19th-Century German philosopher became a TikTok sensation

'Compressed modernity brings high highs and low lows. It promises too much, too fast—and when disenchantment hits, it hits hard.'

Fascinating essay.

izading.substack.com/p/schopenhau...

The complex question of what it is to be culturally Irish in 2025 Ed Sheeran grew up in England but described himself as 'culturally Irish,' prompting debate about what that really means

'If somebody asks me to narrow my identity to a single label, I refuse, because it is mine, not to be explained or justified. And if it shifts tomorrow, that is my business.'

Fantastic, moving article from Fergal Keane.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

China is building a new data empire A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

China audit: Foreign Secretary's statement The Foreign Secretary made a statement to the House of Commons, updating members on the government’s approach to China following the cross-Whitehall audit.

Foreign Secretary statement on China Audit now up online. www.gov.uk/government/s...

China gets three paragraphs on p.39 of National Security Strategy... www.gov.uk/government/p...