Why is the Government’s China policy under fire? 

Welcome to Friday’s Early Edition from i.

Last year, the influential parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee accused the-then Foreign Secretary James Cleverly of keeping secret part of the Government’s China policy, leaving institutions such as universities and even civil servants confused about how they could interact with Beijing. “Given the publication by Germany of a China strategy, it is evidently possible for the UK government to publish a public, unclassified, version which would give the public and private sectors the guidance they are seeking,” it said back in August. The Government’s stance on China has come under repeated scrutiny in recent months, but the issue intensified earlier this week when i revealed it had secretly softened its policy against Chinese businesses implicated in human rights abuses. What do the documents reveal, what concerns are being raised and what does the Government say? We’ll find out after the headlines.

 Today’s news, and why it matters

 Conservative MPs have given up on the the prospect of the Rwanda migration scheme happening before the general election after a fresh delay to the bill designed to get deportation flights started. One former minister said: “The nature of government is to disappoint people. The flights would be good for the electoral family that we’ve started to lose, but I don’t see them happening personally at this rate.”

A future Labour government must deliver compensation to the millions of women who lost out over the change to the state pension age, Waspi women and MPs have warned. A major report found that the Department for Work and Pensions had failed to communicate the change in the state pension age and called on ministers to compensate the 3.8 million women affected.

Sir Keir Starmer has called on Nike to change the colour of the St George’s Cross on a new England football shirt to traditional red and white after a row over its design. The Labour leader said he believed the flag was a “unifier” and insisted the sporting brand should “reconsider” the decision to modify it.

An investigation uncovered one “serious and concerning allegation” made by a former employee about Russell Brand that it failed to be escalated, Channel 4 has said. The broadcaster’s CEO Alex Mahon said that the team, with external legal help, conducted “an extremely thorough investigation” into the Dispatches allegations made regarding Channel 4 Dispatches and The Times and The Sunday Times.

Conservative MPs have urged the Bank of England to bring down interest rates as soon as possible after the base rate was held at 5.25 per cent. Bank governor Andrew Bailey fuelled hopes of a cut within the next few months after saying “we are on the way” to a downward turn thanks to a faster than expected fall in inflation last month.

Three questions on the Government’s China policy:

What were the documents? According to internal Cabinet documents seen by i, an internal Whitehall assessment advised ministers that the Government would be pausing any consideration of sanctions against Chinese firms “indefinitely”. The rationale behind the decision is hidden behind high-level security clearances, according to the documents. A Whitehall security source told i civil servants were “dumbfounded” by the assessment and couldn’t understand why such a blanket approach to the country would be taken. The assessment was carried out by the Foreign Office (FCDO) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and shared amongst ministers in November last year when David Cameron took up his role in the Foreign Office. Read the full story, here.

What concerns have been raised? There are fears that removing threat of sanctions reduces further safeguards against human rights abuses, including maltreatment of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region and the curtailing of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong. Tory Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Kearns, told i the “outrageous” decision to soften Britain’s stance would give Chinese businesses implicated in human rights abuses a “carte blanche to conduct repression and indeed be complicit in genocide” without facing sanctions. Separately, on Friday the Government responded to the Foreign Affairs Committee’s request for more detail on its China policy, saying it would not publish it. Ms Kearns said that means British businesses, academia and civil society face a “state of uncertainty” when dealing with China. Questions over Britain’s stance on Beijing and human rights abuses were also raised after Jeremy Hunt’s recent talks with Donald Tang, executive chairman of the Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein, the world’s biggest fast-fashion retailer. Last week Liam Byrne, a former Treasury chief secretary under Gordon Brown, called on Mr Hunt to think again. He told i: “It’s a real concern that the Chancellor is proposing to roll out the red carpet to help a fast-fashion behemoth which our American allies have red-flagged for using cotton grown in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, highlighting expert testimony warning of real concerns around the use of forced labour.” David Cameron’s links to China have also come under scrutiny since he became Foreign Secretary. Separately, MPs are also being warned today that electric vehicles manufactured in China could “pose a major security threat” by being potentially remotely controlled. According to the Times, a submission to the parliamentary national security strategy committee says “Chinese-connected EV’s flooding the country could be the most effective Trojan horse that the Chinese establishment has to impact the UK.”

What has the Government said? The Foreign Office (FCDO) has claimed elements of the Whitehall document i has seen are “incorrect”, and the FCDO has “never ruled out sanctions designations on any individual or entity”. They said: “It is not appropriate to speculate on future designations, as to do so could reduce their impact, but the FCDO continues to keep potential sanctions designations under close review.” On Friday, in its response to the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Government said it had already “set out our approach to China: protecting our national security; aligning with our allies and partners; and engaging with China where it is in UK interests to do so. The Government does not intend to publish an additional China Strategy and we have not committed to do so. We will continue to maintain as much transparency as possible and keep Parliament informed of our approach towards China, while recognising it is not in UK interests to make every element of the strategy public.”

Around the world

 How Putin compares with fellow Russian dictator Stalin – in numbers. The Russian President has reportedly killed at least 20 political opponents since he came to power in 1999, reports Caolan Magee.

The US Justice Department has accused Apple of engineering an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market that cuts off competition in a new lawsuit filed against the tech giant. The lawsuit alleges that the iPhone maker has used the tight control it keeps over its smartphone ecosystem to “engage in a broad, sustained, and illegal course of conduct”.

The US has circulated a draft UN security council resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said on a tour of the Middle East. The draft states, “The Security Council determines the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides,” while calling for “humanitarian assistance” and the release of “all remaining hostages.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina is to begin EU membership negotiations, eight years after it formally applied to join the bloc. European Council president Charles Michel congratulated the country’s leaders, telling them: “Your place is in our European family.”

Kermit the Frog has had a 270m-year-old fossil named after him. Scientists in the US have discovered a species of an ancient amphibian ancestor, which they have named Kermitops gratus because of its resemblance to the bright green star of The Muppet Show.

 Watch out for…

 David Cameron, who is in Australia meeting his counterpart for annual meetings to talk about the Aukus agreement as well as other global issues including Gaza. 

 Thoughts for the day

 We lost our savings, our homes – this Waspi report has vindicated us. It’s now crystal clear that 1950s-born women were failed by the Government, says Angela Madden.

Why I will not follow Owen Jones and leave the Labour Party. No clique that drunk on its own power will last long, argues Andrew Fisher.

Marrying a Black man revealed uncomfortable truths about my own bias. I began to form a more realistic picture of what race and racism meant, writes Dr Ivana Poku.

Culture Break

 Julia Donaldson: ‘I give parents permission to lose my books behind a radiator’. The bestselling author talks to Simon Bland about why children never tire of ‘The Gruffalo’ – and how watching David Attenborough inspired her latest book.

The Big Read

 Putin opponents expect to ‘be hunted at home and abroad’ after election. Dissidents also believe ‘false confidence’ from compromised vote could make the president vulnerable, reports Kieron Monks.

Sport

 The England youngsters hoping for their ‘Gazza’ moment against Brazil. England’s abundance of elite talent promises of a brighter future – and four uncapped players are pushing for an opportunity to be a part of it, writes Daniel Storey.

Something to brighten your day

 The secret to happy Finnish teens: nature, freedom – and lots of screen time. The young are the unhappiest they have been for 12 years. But not in Finland, finds Eleanor Peake, who spoke to teenagers there about their lives.