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Luke Pollard, a defence minister, was asked about a claim that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secrets in Chinese cars
Healey is now taking questions.
Q: How close are are we to war?
It is Labour that is the party of defence.

After MI5 issues China espionage alert to parliament, Luke Pollard says message should be heeded by all citizens

Ordinary UK citizens need to watch out for online contact with Chinese spies, the defence minister has said, after MI5 issued an espionage alert to parliament.
Luke Pollard said a warning given to parliamentarians on Tuesday that China was attempting to recruit individuals with access to sensitive information should also be heeded by the public at large.

Beijing reimposes 2023 ban, citing Japan PM’s comment that military would respond to Chinese attack on island
China has suspended imports of Japanese seafood again, as the fallout over the Japanese prime minister’s comments about Taiwan continues to escalate in one of worst bilateral disputes in years.
The ban was first reported on Wednesday by the Japanese outlets Kyodo News and NHK, and appeared to be confirmed by China’s foreign ministry, which said there was “no market for Japanese seafood in the current climate”.

Decades ago, a Chinese village became an official symbol of revolutionary “self-reliance.” The slogan hasn’t changed, but nearly everything else has.

Britain’s domestic intelligence agency said China was using headhunters to gather intelligence from lawmakers and parliamentary staff members.

Dan Jarvis gives Commons statement after MI5 alert about LinkedIn profiles of Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen
MPs and peers have been told they face “a covert and calculated” attempt to recruit parliamentarians through two LinkedIn profiles linked to the Chinese intelligence service.
After MI5 issued an espionage alert on Tuesday, saying that two people were operating on LinkedIn to obtain “non-public and insider insights”, the security minister, Dan Jarvis, told MPs the effort was focused on those “with access to sensitive information about parliament and the UK government”.

Dan Jarvis, the security minister, says China is trying to contact MPs and peers to get sensitive information about parliament. This live blog is closed
Back at the Reform UK press conference, Zia Yusuf, the party’s head of policy, has just finished outlining his plan to cut spending on foreigners
As he finished, Yusuf claimed this was “treachery”.
Labour is making the conscious and deliberate decision to continue funding extortionate amounts to foreign nationals, to the detriment of British citizens.
And I don’t know what to call that. Frankly, in my view, it’s treachery. I think it’s appalling. British people are sick and tired of it.
Just a few months ago, Rachel Reeves was saying she couldn’t afford to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Now it looks like becoming her latest U-turn.
This isn’t because the economic circumstances have improved. Quite the opposite.

Gui Junmin froze his dead spouse as a sign of his devotion - but it's now emerged he is dating again.

Russia and China abstained in the vote, which provides a legal mandate for the Trump administration’s vision of how to move past the cease-fire to rebuild the war-ravaged enclave after two years of war.

Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi had suggested Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked Taiwan.

Chinese airlines offer free cancellations and film releases postponed after Japanese PM’s comments on Taiwan
Chinese travellers are estimated to have cancelled hundreds of thousands of tickets to fly to Japan amid reports of suspended visa processing and cultural exchanges as a diplomatic dispute over Japan’s stance on Taiwan continues.
Under pressure from business groups, Japan has sent a senior diplomat to Beijing in an attempt to calm tensions after Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said her country if China attempted to invade Taiwan. Her comments from China’s government, which issued warnings against Chinese travellers and students going to Japan.

Delayed releases include Cells at Work! and Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers, Chinese state media said.