![\"London](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/nl-header_politico_london-playbook.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\nBy SAM BLEWETT<\/strong><\/p>\n with MARTIN ALFONSIN LARSEN<\/strong><\/p>\n Good Thursday morning<\/strong>. This is Sam Blewett.<\/p>\n DRIVING THE DAY<\/p>\n NOTHING TO XI HERE: <\/strong>Keir Starmer finally hit the transparency switch late last night in an attempt to end the row over the collapsed Chinese espionage case. Yet in doing so, the prime minister has provoked fresh questions both for himself and the Crown Prosecution Service. This story has now fully gripped the news agenda, and the extraordinary fresh evidence of Beijing\u2019s snooping on Britain \u2014 alongside curiously warm words about the government desiring a \u201cpositive\u201d relationship \u2014 make it clearer than ever there was a major f*ckup somewhere. All those involved are pointing the finger at someone else, naturally.<\/p>\n For the non-night owls: <\/strong>At 9.33 p.m. the government finally lived up to Starmer\u2019s PMQs promise and published the three witness statements<\/a> by deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins. One was written under the last Tory government that the PM has been trying to pin this all on, and two under his administration. (Officials had to clarify that the second statement was dated February 2024 in error and actually pertained to February of this year. Yep, really.)\u00a0<\/p>\n Moving on \u2026<\/strong> the evidence contained in the initial statement<\/a> both against the Chinese state and the two men accused in the collapsed case is really something. The \u201chighly capable\u201d Chinese Intelligence Services were described as conducting \u201clarge scale espionage operations\u201d to advance Beijing\u2019s objectives and \u201charm the interests and security of the U.K.\u201d The Newport Wafer Fab semiconductor plant<\/a> and even Tory leadership rumblings are named as being of interest. China is described as posing a threat throughout the documents.\u00a0<\/p>\n **A message from Rolls-Royce:<\/strong> Rolls-Royce is an engine for growth<\/a> and proud partner to the UK\u2019s Armed Forces. The UK needs a strong defence industry, driving economic growth and creating high-skilled jobs. Our sovereign nuclear and gas turbine capabilities are a strategic national asset that can support the Government\u2019s endeavour to strengthen national security.**<\/strong><\/p>\n Beijing parry: <\/strong>The case Collins outlines against former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash, 30, and academic Christopher Berry, 33, is really something, too. They\u2019re accused of collaborating with a senior Chinese Communist Party leader who was deputy director of the Central National Security Commission, chaired by President Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n Reading too much le Carr\u00e9: <\/strong>Cash is also alleged to have told Berry in a message, \u201cYou\u2019re in spy territory now.\u201d Both men deny any wrongdoing \u2014 something Cash reiterated in a fresh statement<\/a> last night. He said he had been put in an \u201cimpossible position\u201d because this calamity also means they don\u2019t get their day in court.<\/p>\n Without a doubt \u2026 <\/strong>the CPS needs to explain what exactly it was in these statements that led prosecutors to drop the case, because they didn\u2019t believe the evidence from the government was that Beijing represented a \u201cthreat to the national security of the U.K.\u201d Was it a distinction between talking about the threat China poses, and talking about China as \u201ca threat\u201d in entirety? Or was it something else? Expect various legal eagles to weigh in if clarification is not forthcoming.<\/p>\n The government\u2019s not in the clear either: <\/strong>Collins\u2019 second statement added language on how Britain benefits from trade and investment with China \u2026 while his third says the government is committed to pursuing a \u201cpositive relationship\u201d with Beijing, and even borrows language<\/a> word-for-word from the Labour manifesto<\/a>. Collins said it was \u201cimportant\u201d for him to say this \u2014 why? Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch released a statement in the last hour pointing to this as the major hole in the PM\u2019s case and claiming his story is \u201cfalling apart under scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n Did it have any effect? <\/strong>It\u2019s unclear whether those additions had any impact on the CPS\u2019 thinking, but does raise questions as to why the PM has repeatedly insisted that it\u2019s just the policy of the Tory government in charge at the time of the charges that matters. Remember, he told the Commons<\/a> that there were no political orders whatsoever for prosecutors to drop the case. So did \u201cdoer not decider<\/a>\u201d Collins really insert these off his own back?\u00a0<\/p>\n And then: <\/strong>Did the CPS tell the government what more it would need to say, and if so, why wasn\u2019t it said? And if the PM knew for two days that the case was on the brink of collapsing, as Downing Street has admitted \u2026 why didn\u2019t he step in to ensure the evidence was sufficient? \u201cWe leant into it as much as possible to help the prosecution characterize it as the threat,\u201d one senior official told Playbook.<\/p>\n But but but: <\/strong>Critics will continue to suspect the government may have gone further if it wasn\u2019t so worried about jeopardizing its economically beneficial relationship with Beijing, even if it may just have been a case of Starmer doing his lawyerly best to follow proper process. The Times\u2019 Steven Swinford<\/a> has a good explainer of the outstanding queries.<\/p>\n LET\u2019S TAKE A STEP BACK: <\/strong>We now have a haul of evidence about alleged espionage in Britain \u2026 clear claims about the threat Beijing poses us \u2026 and yet all it\u2019s amounted to is a collapsed court case, a major headache for the government and a big push to clear the whole thing up only prompting more concerns. Frankly, no one is any more satisfied by the state of play and MPs from across the spectrum will rightly be asking how the heck this all went so wrong.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Last night\u2019s flurry: <\/strong>The late timing meant most of the front pages initially went on other extraordinary claims about Chinese espionage (we\u2019ll get to them in a mo). But the Times<\/a> got a swift rewrite out on how Collins did indeed call China a threat \u2026 the Guardian<\/a>, too, gravitates to questions lying at the CPS\u2019 door \u2026 while the FT<\/a> dwells on the jarring \u201cpositive\u201d relationship insertion. It all underlines how many different reads this can provoke.<\/p>\n The case for Starmer: <\/strong>Government figures Playbook spoke to seemed confident the statements only back up the case they\u2019ve been making, while a former No. 10 official under Starmer messaged: \u201cIMHO this looks really bad for CPS. Collins repeatedly refers to China as a \u2018threat\u2019 \u2014 and specifically as an \u2018active espionage threat\u2019 in that most recent statement.\u201d Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve told the BBC\u2019s The World Tonight that the saga was \u201cutterly mystifying\u201d because he couldn\u2019t work out why prosecutors would drop the case in light of the three punchy witness statements.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In too DPP: <\/strong>There are senior MPs not taking too kindly to how Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson has handled this. The DPP and his team met a bunch of select committee chairs on Wednesday as the parliamentarians prepare to launch some sort of inquiry into the saga. ITV\u2019s Robert Peston<\/a> hears Parkinson told them the government\u2019s witness statements were \u201c5 percent less than the evidence threshold that was needed.\u201d But one MP told <\/a>Peston: \u201cHe was just a bit wet about the whole thing. He should have taken the risk of prosecuting and have let a jury decide.\u201d<\/p>\n The case for the critics: <\/strong>One former government adviser under the Conservatives asked why the PM didn\u2019t step in to bolster the evidence, arguing \u201cat best it\u2019s complacent and at worst he made an active decision that led to the collapse of the trial.\u201d Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp is now calling for a fresh tranche<\/a> of disclosures \u2014 while Lib Dem foreign affairs frontman Calum Miller wants a \u201cstatutory public inquiry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Will we hear Keir? <\/strong>It was unclear overnight whether we\u2019ll be getting another explanation from the PM on all this today \u2014 or whether anyone will be dragged to the Commons to set it straight. Starmer appeared to have some kind of visit scheduled this morning, but No. 10 wasn\u2019t confirming any details.<\/p>\n For now \u2026 <\/strong>it\u2019s Care Minister Stephen Kinnock whose head will be spinning as he bats away the questions on the morning broadcast round. Expect a brutal Lobby briefing this morning too \u2014 because all the above is only part of it. If this row has served any purpose, it\u2019s to drag out claims of just how vulnerable Britain is.<\/p>\n CHINA IN A BULLDOG SHOP: <\/strong>While Westminster waited for the witness statements to drop, the Lobby was busy delving into Dominic Cummings\u2019 claims (first to the Times<\/a>) that Beijing managed to obtain \u201cvast amounts\u201d of classified government information over many years. Those claims also splash the Mail<\/a> and Telegraph<\/a>.<\/p>\n But then \u2026 <\/strong>the government machine whirred into action to rubbish Boris Johnson\u2019s ex-bezzy\u2019s claims. The Cabinet Office issued a statement flatly denying the former chief of staff\u2019s allegation that systems used to transfer the \u201cmost sensitive government information\u201d had been compromised. And the head of the National Cyber Security Centre at the time Cummings says this occurred, Ciaran Martin, issued a rare statement describing his claims as \u201ccategorically untrue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t stop there though: <\/strong>Government insiders weren\u2019t batting all the allegations away by any means. Bloomberg\u2019s Alex Wickham<\/a> revealed that Chinese state actors have managed to wheedle their way into classified government computers for more than a decade, routinely accessing low- and medium-level classification information and also some marked \u201cofficial-sensitive\u201d and \u201csecret.\u201d<\/p>\n I spy with my little data hub: <\/strong>The Spectator\u2019s Tim Shipman has now published his cracking piece<\/a> packed with alarming details \u2026 like how far worse scandals involving China and Russia have been \u201cswept under the carpet.\u201d One of them centers on the \u201cstratospheric f***-up\u201d of how a Chinese firm was able to buy a data hub used by Whitehall departments to share info. Government insiders accepted that account, though one person briefed on the situation told Playbook they don\u2019t believe the hub \u201cheld secret, or above, data.\u201d<\/p>\n Raging spooks: <\/strong>Shipman also hears about anger from the chiefs of MI5, MI6 and CCHQ over how the spy case was dropped, and that parliament\u2019s Intelligence and Security Committee is meeting this afternoon to discuss launching an inquiry that could demand testimony from national security adviser Jonathan Powell. A friend told Shipman of the whole furor: \u201cFrankly, he doesn\u2019t need this sh*t at his age.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n INCOMING: <\/strong>With rather delicious or awkward timing (depending on whether you\u2019re in government or not) MI5 chief Ken McCallum is delivering his annual \u201cstate threats\u201d speech<\/a> \u2014 which all and sundry expect to feature plenty on China. Watch out for lines dropping on that this afternoon.<\/p>\n Every action, a reaction: <\/strong>The Tories are crowing about all this \u2014 but it\u2019s a fair question as to why we\u2019re only finding out about all this now. Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride is on the morning round trying to go big on the budget, but will likely face some awkward questions himself considering his time on the Tory government front benches. It\u2019s gonna be another lively day in spy territory.<\/p>\n MEANWHILE, IN WASHINGTON<\/p>\n LOOKING DICEY IN D.C.: <\/strong>Rachel Reeves will spend a good chunk of her day in Washington taking on the economic editors in a round of interviews that\u2019ll no doubt focus on her admission that taxes will be going up in next month\u2019s budget and that there could be spending cuts too. The chancellor also has a new set of economic estimates to address.<\/p>\n Just in: <\/strong>The ONS moments ago published its figure for August\u2019s GDP. Will it have trumped July\u2019s whopping 0 percent growth? Click here<\/a> to find out. U.K. export figures have also just been published<\/a>. Expect Reeves to respond to these in her sit-down interviews with broadcasters and print hacks taking place around midday<\/strong>. But while we wait for those, there was a bit more from the chancellor last night.<\/p>\n Not quite a wealth tax: <\/strong>Reeves told the Guardian\u2019s Heather Stewart<\/a> that higher taxes on the wealthy \u201cwill be part of the story\u201d as she insisted there \u201cwon\u2019t be a return to austerity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Questions galore: <\/strong>Whether the hard-to-define \u201cworking people\u201d will also be hit with tax hikes (stealth or not) remains an outstanding query \u2014 as does whether departmental budgets will also face a squeeze in real terms. Some<\/a> were welcoming Reeves\u2019 comments as a nod to some sort of wealth tax, though she wasn\u2019t quite that explicit.<\/p>\n Go big or go home: <\/strong>The Institute for Fiscal Studies had a report out<\/a> overnight telling Reeves she needs to be \u201cbold\u201d in plugging an estimated \u00a322 billion shortfall at the Nov. 26 budget \u2014 or risk a \u201cgroundhog day\u201d scenario in which she just has to come back to the despatch box for more. The BBC has a write-up.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The agenda: <\/strong>Reeves has bilats with Ukrainian counterpart Sergii Marchenko and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, as well as a G20 ministerial meeting. But the biggest item on her schedule is a meeting with Donald Trump\u2019s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this afternoon. There\u2019s plenty to discuss, but the British steel industry will hope she tries to get reducing tariffs on the agenda \u2014 not least considering the pain the EU is planning to inflict in that area too.<\/p>\n Bessie mates: <\/strong>Bessent may well have a big Ukraine plan to float with Reeves. The Telegraph\u2019s Joe Barnes<\/a> and Connor Stringer hear that the president has instructed his finance guy to talk to European allies about establishing a Ukraine victory fund to be bankrolled by fresh tariffs on China. That\u2019s one to watch, what with Volodymyr Zelenskyy scheduled to be in town to meet the president on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n BREGRETS, WE\u2019VE HAD A FEW: <\/strong>As Playbook\u2019s been noting, Reeves and the rest of the government\u2019s been getting way more confident in blaming Brexit for the economic woes (even if it\u2019s not going down swimmingly with all Labour MPs, as the i\u2019s Kitty Donaldson<\/a> notes). Now my EU-watching colleague Jon Stone has a new poll showing that voters \u2014 by a whopping two to one \u2014 actually favor the pre-Brexit immigration system to the one that\u2019s taken shape since departure. Don\u2019t expect the government to start resurrecting the ghost of free movement though \u2026 right? Check Jon\u2019s story here<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n MIGRATION NATION<\/p>\n LAND AHOY: <\/strong>The government\u2019s chief small boats fighter Martin Hewitt is before the Home Affairs Committee this morning \u2014 with MPs keen to grill the border security commander on just how this \u201cone in, one out deal\u201d with France is shaping up. The numbers surrounding this and just whether it could be effective in reducing unauthorized Channel crossings are still key questions to scope out. Tune in from 9.30 a.m.<\/strong> \u2014 stream here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Launching a thousand stories: <\/strong>The ex-copper put in a shift at Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood\u2019s summit with counterparts from the Western Balkans on Wednesday. And stemming from that is a flurry of stories designed to show the government\u2019s intent on tackling the issue that no doubt ranks higher in the public consciousness than the spy drama.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brits abroad: <\/strong>The Times<\/a> hears that U.K. border officers have been dispatched to the region \u2014 through which 25 percent of all small boat arrivals passed through last year, according to Home Office officials \u2014 to help clamp down on people smuggling.\u00a0<\/p>\n No Balkan here: <\/strong>The plan is for them to train Balkan border guards to use drones and to help reduce passport fraud. Britain\u2019s also hoping to team up with the EU\u2019s Frontex border agency to take part in joint operations there. Though Playbook hears that so far only a \u201cfew\u201d British officials have gone out there as part of a scoping exercise, in the hope of sending more in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just try carrots: <\/strong>Both the Telegraph<\/a> and the Express<\/a> also hear that Hewitt agreed with Balkans border police chiefs in a visit to Sarajevo to deploy surveillance tech such as night vision goggles and drones to limit clandestine movements in the dark.<\/p>\n Everything is migration:<\/strong> In another sign that Reform is leading the national conversation, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is retooling the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to work more directly on tackling illegal migration, my colleague Esther Webber writes today. The FCDO announced it would increase the number of staff working on the issue, while officials say Cooper wants to break down silos in Britain\u2019s embassies that currently lead to diplomatic and Home Office staff not speaking to one another.<\/p>\n Hostage to fortune:<\/strong> The move obviously fits with one of the government\u2019s toughest missions \u2014 but at the same time, Cooper doesn\u2019t have much room to maneuver in her new job. No. 10 keeps a close hold on Ukraine and Gaza negotiations \u2014 some civil servants now call Jonathan Powell \u201cthe real foreign secretary\u201d \u2014 and asking to be judged on migration is a risky business. Read Esther\u2019s piece here<\/a>.<\/p>\n TODAY IN WESTMINSTER<\/p>\n BUILD, BABY, BUILD BLOODY EXPENSIVE HOMES: <\/strong>Labour will slash by more than half the requirement for developers to provide affordable housing in London \u2014 to save red-hatted Housing Secretary Steve Reed\u2019s target of 1.5 million new homes, according to a Vicky Spratt scoop<\/a> that splashes the i. A leaked memo suggested the 35 percent target could be cut to 20 percent, with only half of that needing to be paid for by developers. London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Reed were said to have had held talks over the \u201cemergency reduction\u201d that would frankly have outraged the same Labour bigwigs if the Tories had tried it.<\/p>\n READ MY LIPS:<\/strong> Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson will give a speech to the Confederation of Schools Trusts at 11 a.m. promoting plans revealed in September<\/a> for all 13-year-olds to sit a mandatory reading test. Phillipson will tell the conference that reading is the \u201cpassport\u201d to the rest of young people\u2019s lives and plug a target of 90 percent of children passing a phonics screening check.<\/p>\n Also on her agenda:<\/strong> Phillipson, who is also responsible for the women and equalities brief, has been urged by EHRC boss Kishwer Falkner to speed up the approval of new guidance for the use of single-sex spaces by trans people. The BBC\u2019s Brian Wheeler has more<\/a>.<\/p>\n PERSISTENT KNOBHEADERY<\/strong><\/a> \u2026 <\/strong>may yet be a forgivable offence. One of the four remaining suspended Labour MPs, Brian Leishman, said he had a \u201cgood, open and positive\u201d discussion with Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds on Wednesday, the Scotsman\u2019s Andrew Quinn<\/a> reports. Playbook\u2019s heard from another person linked to the outcasts who reckons the MPs came away with the feeling Reynolds wants them back in the fold.<\/p>\n CARROTS NOT STICKS:<\/strong> The government could save as much as \u00a312.5 billion without cuts to out-of-work benefits by helping sick or disabled people into employment, according to a Work and Pensions Committee report that gets a write-up in the i Paper<\/a>. That could at least help avert more headaches for the whips.<\/p>\n WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT:<\/strong> \u00a380 million in funding over three years for hospices for children and young people \u2026 and another \u00a380 million for mental health support to help people back into the workforce.<\/p>\n STATS DROP: <\/strong>Quarterly figures on the use and delivery of electronic tagging devices in England and Wales drop here<\/a> at 9.30 a.m.<\/p>\n BIG TECH WANTS TECH BIG:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>The government should reform planning rules, boost grid connections and attract more global investment to build more U.K. data centers and power an industrial revolution, according to Labour MP Chris Curtis<\/strong> in the foreword to a WPI Strategy report commissioned by those technophiles at Microsoft.<\/p>\n HOUSE OF COMMONS:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Sits from 9.30 a.m. with Culture, Media and Sport questions \u2026 Church Commissioners and House of Commons Commission questions \u2026 Commons Leader Alan Campbell<\/strong> has a business statement \u2026 and the second reading of the Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction Bill. Liberal Democrat MP Alison Bennett <\/strong>has the adjournment debate on government support for children\u2019s hospices in the southeast. <\/p>\n WESTMINSTER HALL:<\/strong>\u00a0Debates from 1.50 p.m. on topics including world menopause day (Labour MP Carolyn Harris<\/strong>) \u2026 a Health and Social Care Committee statement concerning its report on black maternal health (Labour MP Paulette Hamilton<\/strong>) \u2026 and government support for women in STEM (Labour MP Lizzi Collinge<\/strong>).<\/p>\n On committee corridor:<\/strong> The Public Accounts Committee questions Treasury perm sec James Bowler<\/strong> on achieving value for money when providing public services (9.30 a.m.).<\/p>\n HOUSE OF LORDS:<\/strong> Sits from\u00a011 a.m. with the introductions of new Investment Minister Jason Stockwood <\/strong>and Digital Economy Minister Liz Lloyd<\/strong> to the chamber \u2026 oral questions on topics including limiting stablecoin ownership, the Telegraph sale, steps to reduce youth unemployment and changing the law regarding police vetting, training and discipline \u2026 a statement from Lords Leader Angela Smith<\/strong> on the Middle East \u2026 and the second reading of the Crime and Policing Bill.\u00a0<\/p>\n BEYOND THE M25<\/p>\n DRILLING INTO THE DETAILS:<\/strong> Norwegian oil giant Equinor revealed that the Rosebank oil field would produce the equivalent of 249 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over its 25-year lifetime, an amount Greenpeace campaigners said was \u201cgreater than the annual emissions of Ireland, Belgium and Greece combined.\u201d The energy company made the admission as it began a renewed attempt to drill in the U.K.\u2019s biggest untapped oil field. The Times has more<\/a><\/p>\n ENJOY IT WHILE YOU CAN: <\/strong>EU countries have five years to prepare for war, according to a military plan obtained by my colleagues Jacopo Barigazzi and Laura Kayali<\/a> to be presented by the European Commission today. The document states that by 2030, the continent needs a \u201csufficiently strong European defence posture to credibly deter its adversaries, as well as respond to any aggressions.\u201d<\/p>\n STILL HOLDING:<\/strong> Aid trucks entered Gaza, Israel resumed preparations to open the main crossing into Rafah and Hamas handed over more bodies of dead hostages on Wednesday as the fragile ceasefire brokered by the White House remained in force. U.S. officials told my colleague Eli Stokols<\/a> they were optimistic the peace deal would hold despite Israel complaining that the bodies of hostages were being returned too slowly and Hamas clashing with other Palestinians in Gaza.<\/p>\n LET\u2019S BE PALS:<\/strong> Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa met Vladimir Putin for the first time in Moscow Wednesday and said he wants to \u201creset\u201d his country\u2019s relations with Russia. Putin also indicated he was keen for closer ties with the forces who toppled his former ally (and now Moscow resident<\/a>) Bashar Assad. The FT has the rundown on the meeting<\/a>.<\/p>\n **A message from Rolls-Royce:<\/strong> Rolls-Royce is an engine for growth<\/a> in the UK economy, delivering critical defence capabilities across air, land and sea. We are the UK\u2019s national champion for combat engine technologies and for 60 years have supplied the nuclear propulsion plants powering Royal Navy nuclear submarines, supporting national security and spreading economic growth across the UK. We are key to priority programmes including the UK Continuous At Sea Deterrent, AUKUS and GCAP. The Government\u2019s Defence Industrial Strategy named nuclear and combat air as national security industrial priorities and committed to the development of a more resilient supply chain, driving export opportunities and creating high-skilled jobs \u2013 all contributing to UK economic growth. The UK is strategically advantaged with both commercial and defence aero-engine capabilities and we welcome the Government\u2019s commitment to prioritising investment in dual-use technologies. Our collective ambitions are clear. We must now work at pace to deliver on this national endeavour.**<\/strong><\/p>\n MEDIA ROUND<\/p>\n Care Minister Stephen Kinnock broadcast round:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Times Radio (7 a.m.) \u2026 Sky (7.15 a.m.) \u2026 BBC Breakfast (7.30 a.m.) \u2026 LBC (7.50 a.m.) \u2026 5Live (8.10 a.m.) \u2026 GMB (8.30 a.m.) \u2026 GB News (9.05 a.m.).<\/p>\n Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride broadcast round:<\/strong>\u00a0LBC (7.05 a.m.) \u2026 Times Radio (7.45 a.m.) \u2026 GB News (8.05 a.m.) \u2026 Sky (8.15 a.m.) \u2026 Talk (9.15 a.m.).<\/p>\n Today program:<\/strong> Shadow Home Office Minister Alicia Kearns<\/strong> (7.50 a.m.).<\/p>\n Also on Times Radio Breakfast:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>IFS Director Helen Miller<\/strong> (7.30 a.m.) \u2026 former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace<\/strong> (8 a.m.) \u2026 Trump aide Sebastian Gorka<\/strong> (8.20 a.m.) \u2026 former Borders and Immigration Chief Inspector John Vine<\/strong> (8.35 a.m.) \u2026 the Times\u2019 Cindy Yu<\/strong> and former Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire<\/strong> (9 a.m.).<\/p>\n Also on Sky News Breakfast:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Sutton Trust boss Nick Harrison<\/strong> (7.30 a.m.) \u2026 former MI6 boss Richard Dearlove<\/strong> (7.45 a.m.) \u2026 Pensana boss Paul Atherley<\/strong> (8.30 a.m.) \u2026 Action Against Hunger UK\u2019s Jean-Michel Grand<\/strong> (8.45 a.m.).<\/p>\n Politics Live <\/strong>(BBC Two 12.15 p.m.):\u00a0Labour MP Stella Creasy<\/strong> \u2026 Liberal Democrat MP James MacCleary <\/strong>\u2026 and the Telegraph\u2019s Annabel Denham<\/strong>.<\/p>\n TODAY\u2019S FRONT PAGES<\/p>\n POLITICO UK<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Why migration is taking over the UK Foreign Office.<\/p>\n Daily Express<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>Kemi: It stinks of a China cover-up by PM.<\/p>\n Daily Mail<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Chinese stole secrets from No.10 for years.<\/p>\n Daily Mirror<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a3145m owed \u2026 not a penny paid back.<\/p>\n Daily Star<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>Katie names TV star \u2018rapist.\u2019<\/p>\n Financial Times<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>Financiers sound alarm on standards after collapses expose riskier lending.<\/p>\n Metro<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>\u2018Jailed 27 yrs\u2026by her parents.\u2019<\/p>\n The Daily Telegraph<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>Cummings: China stole secrets in major hack.<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>Budget will raise taxes on wealthy to fix public finances, says Reeves.<\/p>\n\n \n<\/tr>\n \n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1Politico-An-Engine-for-growth-Banner-Ad-300px-x-250px-1.jpg\")
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