MPs expected to grill minister over collapse of China spy trial as Commons resumes after recess – UK politics live

Speaker likely to be sympathetic to MPs seeking more scrutiny of issue amid pressure on government security adviser, Jonathan Powell

Tom Tugendhat, the Tory former security minister, used an interview on the Today programme this morning to attack the government for its stance on the China spy prosecution that collapsed. He claimed the government was “willing to cover up for the actions of a hostile state which is seeking to intervene in the freedoms of the British people”.

Last night the Conservative party released the text of an open letter from Kemi Badenoch to Keir Starmer about the collapse of the China spy trial. In it, Badenoch said Starmer should arrange for a minister to make a statement about it in the Commons today and she set out six questions that she said needed to be answered.

· Is your argument that no minister knew anything of the government’s interactions with the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] over the “many months” in which your government refused to give the CPS the material it wanted?

· Did ministers at HMT [His Majesty’s Treasury], Home Office or the FCDO [Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office] ever brief you, the prime minister, about this matter or refer to it in any way? Did Jonathan Powell mention it to you at any point? Continue reading...