UK’s Starmer under fire from MPs over China trip amid claims he was ‘tricked’ by Beijing

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by dpaFebruary 2, 2026 at 09:07 PM

AI Summary

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Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister, is facing criticism from Members of Parliament following his recent trip to China. The controversy stems from claims that Beijing has "tricked" the UK government regarding sanctions. Former security minister Tom Tugendhat highlighted that while Starmer announced the lifting of restrictions on current parliamentarians, sanctions remain on others, including those no longer in Parliament, lawyers, and academics. These sanctions, imposed in 2021, banned entry to China, Hong Kong, and Macau, froze assets, and prohibited business dealings for sanctioned individuals. Tugendhat questioned whether this selective lifting of sanctions was an attempt by China to divide and conquer, similar to tactics used against the European Parliament. The MPs are concerned about the implications for British democracy.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Lindsay Hoyle 30% Macau 30% Hong Kong 40% House of Commons 40% Nusrat Ghani 50% Iain Duncan Smith 50% Neil O'Brien 50% Beijing 60% Tom Tugendhat ×270% UK 70% China ×380% Keir Starmer ×290%

Keywords

china 90% uk 80% sanctions 70% keir starmer 70% beijing 60% parliamentarians 60% political trip 50% house of commons 40% foreign policy 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

China

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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china uk sanctions keir starmer beijing parliamentarians political trip house of commons foreign policy

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