The Prime Minister opened Cabinet by reflecting on recent events.
He said the awful terror attack on the synagogue in Manchester
was an antisemitic attack on Jews for being Jews and designed to
instil fear in our Jewish communities. He said that days
later there was an attack on a mosque in Sussex, and that this
government will fight hatred in all its forms. And said his trip
to India last week was welcomed by the 120 strong delegation that
accompanied him who were delighted by the opportunity to further
strengthen links with India.
He then turned to his visit to Egypt yesterday, where the
US-brokered peace plan was signed. He said the remaining living
hostage families had waited a long time for their release, and
that the ceasefire has seen aid beginning to get into Gaza in
greater volume, but with much more needed. [He paid tribute
to the role that the National Security Advisor had played behind
the scenes], and said the UK was offering its full support to the
next phase, including the decommissioning of Hamas where we have
some experience to bear from Northern Ireland, and that all
parties must now do all within our power to follow through on the
peace plan which represents an important step in the right
direction.
The Prime Minister then addressed the case of the two individuals
accused of spying for China between 2021 and 2023. He said the
prosecution rested on the position of the previous Government in
relation to China, and specifically whether the previous
government deemed China an enemy of the United Kingdom, or could
be deemed at the time a current threat to national security
sufficient for it to be deemed an enemy of the state. He
said the previous government set out its position on China over
that period very clearly, including in the Integrated Review
(2021), the 'refresh' (2023) to the Integrated Review, in a
speech at Mansion House by the former Foreign Secretary titled
"our position on China", and in comments to the media by the
former Business Secretary. In all cases the previous government
declined to describe China either as an 'enemy' or infer that by
describing it as a current threat to national security'. He
said the current Government's position on China is immaterial to
the prosecution for this case. Finally, he said that anyone who
has met the Deputy National Security Advisor will know he faithfully
carries out his job, would do exactly the right thing, and that
officials like him work hard every day to keep our country safe.
Turning to the Budget, the Chancellor said the UK is the fastest
growing economy in the G7 this year, and that since the election
there have been five interest rate cuts and the government has
signed three significant trade deals. She said that the cost of
living remains the biggest challenge for people, after the last
parliament was the worst on record for living standards and the
only one on record where living standards went backwards. Since
the election wages have grown faster than inflation, but
inflation is too high and the government would bear down on
inflation, control public spending, and prioritise growth. She
said the challenge was the fact that growth and productivity
figures over the past 15 years have kept coming in lower than
expected, and borrowing costs and debt levels are too high,
leaving less revenue available for public services, and
demonstrating why getting debt down and growth up was so
important. She said today's planning announcements were an
example of the radical agenda that this government must pursue to
take the shackles off the economy.
The Foreign Secretary said the emotional scenes of hostage
families being reunited with their loved ones were a result of
the US-led peace initiative, working with Qatar, Turkey and
Egypt. She said a coalition of countries, including the UK, were
now working on how to implement the peace plan, open up more
crossings and get aid into Gaza in higher volumes, and deliver
the next phase including decommissioning Hamas, the
reconstruction of Gaza, ceasefire monitoring, and future
governance.
Finally, the Home Secretary said the appalling terrorist attack
in Manchester was partly so devastating because the Jewish
community said it was not a surprise. She said that the police
had delivered increased security to Jewish communities, schools,
and synagogues, the government was working with the Community
Security Trust on further training and security, and that she had
announced she would amend the Public Order Act to make clear that
the policy can consider the cumulative impact of repeat marches
when attaching conditions to protests. She said the big challenge
in response was integration and social cohesion, and how we bring
communities back together again.
