At the PMQs earlier, Rishi Sunak slammed Sir Keir Starmer for supporting previous Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, claiming it jeopardized UK national security.
Sunak was questioned about his record on China by Starmer, who asked whether he would “finally commit to the full audit of UK-China relations.”
He hit Sunak, calling him “inaction man” and accusing him of “blaming everyone else.”
However, in response to Starmer, the Prime Minister stated that the Leader of the Opposition should “perhaps reflect on his own record.”
Sunak told the House of Commons: “Mr. Speaker, as always, I believe the opposition is just playing catch up and hasn’t caught up with the reality of what’s actually happening.”
He added: “If he wants to talk about foreign policy, Mr. Speaker, he should perhaps reflect on his own record because this was the man who said he was ‘100 per cent’ behind the former Labour leader- a person who wanted to abolish the army, scrap trident and withdraw from NATO.
“It’s clear what he did: he put his own political interests ahead of Britain’s.”
It was disclosed over the weekend that a parliamentary researcher had been arrested on suspicion of spying for China. The unidentified person was detained early this year, along with another male in his 30s.
Both were granted police bail and released until October.
At PMQs, Starmer seized the debate over China to launch an assault on the PM, accusing him of “failing to guard Britain against hostile actors” and “completely failing to stop the boats.”
“How can anyone trust him to protect the country?” he wondered.
Sunak responded: “Mr. Speaker, he talks about trust. He talks about action.
“Just today, this Government is taking action to reform the effect of EU laws to unlock over 100,000 homes, boosting our economy supporting jobs and ensuring that we can realize the aspirations of homeowners.
“Now he talks about trust. He tried in this house to talk the talk on housebuilding – but at the first sign of a political hit – what did he do? He’s caved in Mr. Speaker.”
Sunak was referring to Labour’s reversal on neutrality laws, which would allow the government to build 100,000 homes in the United Kingdom.