Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced Kemi Badenoch at PMQs on Wednesday in a heated exchange over the collapse of the China spy case. The Conservative leader criticised Starmer’s legal background, asking: “What on earth is the point of us having a lawyer rather than a leader as the Prime Minister?”
Starmer hit back, saying: “She’s clearly not a lawyer or a leader. The problem for her is I do actually understand the law. I know what’s got to be proven. I’ve also looked at the evidence.” The retort drew laughter from Labour benches.
Earlier, Starmer confirmed he would publish witness statements from the case in full. No10 had blamed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for blocking release, but Starmer said the CPS informed him it was the government’s decision to disclose.
The PM also mocked Conservative conference gaffe where chocolate bars mis-spelt “Britian” instead of “Britain”. Labour MP Jim Dickson spelt out “Britain” to Badenoch during PMQs, prompting laughter. Starmer quipped: “We’re rebuilding Britain. They can’t even spell it.”
Badenoch accused Labour of mishandling the spy case, while Starmer read out former Tory ministers’ comments describing China as a “threat” as “impractical”. He noted that Badenoch herself had previously refused to call China a “foe”.
The case against former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry was dropped on September 15. Both men had been accused of passing secrets to China but deny wrongdoing. Starmer said he was “deeply disappointed” by the outcome.
