'Desperate!' Liz Truss accuses Keir Starmer of 'clutching at straws' as Labour leader 'bows to Beijing'

The Prime Minister has become subject to surmountable criticism for the international rendezvous, with critics saying the leader is "kowtowing to the Chinese" amid security concerns.

Delivering a similarly critical verdict on Sir Keir's decision to jet off to Beijing, Ms Truss said: "I think he knows perfectly well that they are a huge threat.

"You cannot be Prime Minister, you cannot read the intelligence reports coming from our officials and not know that these people are a massive threat.

"He's desperate. The British economy is in a dire state. It's been stagnant.

"He's the most unpopular Prime Minister in British history. And he's desperately clutching at straws for some positive news.

"Yeah, and the only person who's reached out is President Xi.

"And you know, we all know President Xi's got an agenda. He wants to undermine Western society.

"He wants China to be more powerful. He's got the Belt and Road Initiative. That is the aim of the Chinese.

"And they've been very successful with Canada. Mark Carney has been kowtowing to the Chinese.

"And of course, he was still doing that when he was governor of the Bank of England - and you've got the same tendency in Keir Starmer."

She continued: "I think the other factor is that these sort of leftie, British-hating human rights lawyer obsessives, they kind of they see China and America as morally equivalent.

"Even though China is a totalitarian state, a lot of the left get more worked up about Donald Trump than they do about what's going on in China.

"So I think he sees it as an easy way of trying to get some kind of credit."

Ms Truss's scathing criticism has come after it was revealed Chinese state-sponsored hackers infiltrated the phones of senior Downinst Street officials over the course of several years - including those of Ms Truss' aides.

Phones from advisers close to Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak were also believed to have been compromised, potentially exposing private communications to Chinese intelligence services.

The cyber-espionage campaign, known as Salt Typhoon, is believed to have reached "right into the heart of Downing Street".

It remains unclear whether the Prime Ministers' personal devices were directly compromised.

US intelligence officials said on Monday that the Salt Typhoon operation is believed to remain active, raising concerns that Sir Keir Starmer and members of his team could also be vulnerable to the threat.

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