We speak your mind Enjoy free-thinking comment that champions your values Enjoy three months’ free access to The Telegraph. Cancel at any time. |  | Tony Diver Associate Political Editor | For 10 days The Telegraph’s reporters have been digging into the mysterious collapse of the Chinese spy case. For 10 days Downing Street has argued that its hands had been tied, and has strongly denied any claims that ministers had been responsible for the fiasco.
On Wednesday evening, the Government finally published witness statements that Sir Keir Starmer said would exonerate him, arguing that the Conservatives had made “baseless” accusations of a “cover-up”.
But far from laying the fiasco to rest, the evidence by Matthew Collins, the deputy national security adviser, raises even more questions about Labour’s handling of the case, which fell apart last month.
Sir Keir and his ministers have insisted that Mr Collins could only use evidence from the previous Conservative government, which was in power when the alleged spying was committed by Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, who deny the charges.  | | Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash were accused of passing parliamentary secrets to Beijing but the case against them collapsed | But at the bottom of more than a dozen pages of evidence is a reference to Labour’s “three Cs” China policy – which suggests the Government had the power to call China an enemy in the case, and to allow it to proceed to trial. Mr Collins also says that the UK pursues a ‘‘positive’’ relationship with Beijing.
The details of this case are complex and the evidence salacious. There are claims of high espionage, deceit and the involvement of the Chinese Communist Party.
At its core, this is a political row about whether a country that routinely attacks Britain should be considered a friend or foe. That is the question Sir Keir has not yet answered. Continue reading ➤ Read more:
• How China pair allegedly leaked secrets on Tory leadership race
• Dominic Cummings: China stole ‘vast amounts’ of state secrets
• Tim Stanley | Britain has never been run by someone so disingenuous
| | Usman Ali outside his home in Turbigo, northern Italy |  | Sophia Yan Senior Foreign Correspondent | Tortured, murdered, and starved by smugglers on a migrant boat meant to sail from Mauritania to Spain.
Only 22 survived. Those not killed hung on by drinking their own urine, finally rescued by Moroccan authorities.
That was in January. It was one of the deadliest incidents on record for Pakistani migrants; a national tragedy, and one that many mourned.
As I interviewed the survivors, I wondered: Who was the mastermind behind this? What kind of person would send people to their deaths?
I began digging, asking survivors to tell me everything they remembered about the smugglers.
One name kept coming up: Usman Ali.
Survivors told me he had placed a number of migrants on the boat, and managed the house in Mauritania where they were forced to hide for months before being pushed on the vessel – some against their will.
What stuck out was that the survivors said he’d often boasted about how he was an Italian citizen and had lived a prosperous life in Europe for years. If true, that meant I could potentially find traces of him in Italy.
Next, my colleague Mohammad Zubair Khan visited Ali’s hometown in Pakistan. Together, we gathered more details from relatives of those who died during Ali’s smuggling “games” and others who had been approached by him asking whether they wanted to be smuggled.
We knew we were on the right track when we obtained documents detailing cases and complaints filed against Ali in Pakistan.
Eventually, we came across an Italian address linked to him. Public records showed unusual business activity registered to that location, including one business that he directly owned.
But I didn’t know what was there. Satellite images showed a rusty garage.
The only way to find out was to see for myself, and that’s how I ended up in Turbigo, a small town west of Milan.
Continue reading ➤
Sophia will be replying to your comments on her article at 3pm. | | Allister Heath The histories of Britain and France have been intertwined for centuries. With two hapless leaders, they are now facing joint calamity. Allister will be replying to your comments at 3pm. Continue reading ➤ Sam Ashworth-Hayes Our country isn’t ruined... yet Continue reading ➤ Isabel Oakeshott Shabana Mahmood is proving to be predictably clueless on migration Continue reading ➤ | Never miss a moment Stay ahead with live news updates in our award-winning app Enjoy three months’ free access to The Telegraph. Cancel at any time. | | Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or were reunited after 737 days apart | | Footage of a young couple being torn away from each other by Hamas terrorists became one of the most haunting moments from the Oct 7 terror attacks in Israel. “Don’t kill me,” were the last words Avinatan Or heard from his girlfriend for two years, until this week. Noa Argamani was rescued after being held hostage for 246 days, Avinatan was freed on Monday after 737 days of captivity. Israel had waited two years for their reunion.
Continue reading ➤ | |  | | I bought my house in 2021 after a painful divorce and discovered there had been multiple fires in the property, writes Matt Blake. I asked a neighbour about the house and she remembered the man who lived there. “He’s in prison now. He murdered a woman in the playground by the leisure centre. The papers called him the E17 Night Stalker,” she told me. Soon after, strange things began to happen. The radio started turning on by itself and I heard the sound of slamming doors coming from upstairs...
Continue reading ➤ | | | Ping! At 6.22pm precisely on Sunday an intriguing missive from Jeremy Clarkson appeared on X. “People of Doncaster North,” it began. “Are you happy with your MP? Would you like it if someone from your neck of the woods kicked him out?” The MP in question was Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and that “someone”, of course, was Clarkson himself. Rosa Silverman travelled to the constituency and found that the broadcaster has significant support. Continue reading ➤ | | | Heidi Fuller-Love first visited Elafonisi Beach, on the southwestern corner of Crete, 30 years ago. “There were no sunbeds, no hotels, no canteens selling overpriced souvlaki, and only a handful of sunbathers,” she writes. “It was magical.” Three decades on, Elafonisi’s secret is well and truly out. Earlier this year, it was named best beach in the world in TripAdvisor’s annual Travellers’ Choice Awards. So, has the spot retained its magic? Heidi returned to find out.
Continue reading ➤ | | | | | Katie Price, 47, and Kerry Katona, 45, on stage during their ‘An Evening With’ tour | | It is mad how much Katie Price and Kerry Katona have been through, writes Guy Kelly. Now 47 and 45 respectively and they have, between them, six husbands, six divorces, 10 children, 13 novels, 12 autobiographies, (by my estimate) 29 reality TV series, (by other people’s estimates) 22 boob jobs, around half a dozen arrests, at least four bankruptcies, two number one singles and one original septum. A woman next to me at the show turned and said: “They’re just survivors, really, aren’t they?” Whatever they are, they’re definitely that. Continue reading ➤ | | | It feels like only yesterday car manufacturers launched their first electric cars, but now the second-hand market is flooded with EVs, writes Vicky Parrott. I wanted to discover whether the increasingly common high-mileage used Teslas were in any way recommendable – how they stand up to heavy use, whether the interiors are falling apart, and what the battery life is like after this kind of mileage. The answer, and the price, may surprise you. Continue reading ➤ Below are two more helpful articles for you this morning: - Gilets have gone mainstream, with many choosing to style the ‘finance bro’ look. Here are some of the best on the high street.
- And, if you think you hate blue cheese, this guide may convert you.
| | Some people swear by a mug of Horlicks before bed to help them nod off, others a camomile tea. But do some foods and drinks really aid sleep?
For sleep expert Dr Sophie Bostock, the reality is a little more complex. “Rather than consuming a specific food, the balance of evidence would move towards maintaining a healthy, balanced diet to support our gut microbiome,” says Dr Bostock.
Experts tend to recommend the Mediterranean-style diet, which is high in the essential amino acid tryptophan, from which melatonin – the “sleep hormone” that regulates our circadian rhythms – is synthesised by the body.
Here, Dr Bostock and nutritionist Clarissa Lenherr, examine six foods and drinks rich in dietary tryptophan and melatonin that could help you drift off and improve the quality of your sleep. Continue reading ➤ | Across the pond Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
“America has become one of the world’s least welcoming countries for tourists”, read the headline to Robert Jackman’s article in The Telegraph. Well, on Tuesday, I returned from a holiday in New York, and I’m not sure I agree. It’s true, for instance, that the US is an inconsiderately long distance from Britain (though it was my perverse decision to undertake two transatlantic flights with an infant). As New York has no national parks, we were spared the disappointment of being warned away from one, as many visitors have been recently. I found the residents on friendlier form than when I last visited (‘‘Your son is so cute”, cooed several strangers about my one-year-old daughter). Even the guy at passport control allowed himself a smile. Compared to my last trip, the exchange rate was noticeably less punishing, meaning more pastrami, pizza and key lime pie.
James Pemberton, however, agreed with Robert’s analysis: “There are quite a few no-go countries for tourists now, and America is one of them. Why bother with the bureaucracy and unwelcoming attitude? There are plenty of other places to go where you will be welcome.”
Kieran Smithson added: “We were planning a big holiday to the US next year. Not now, though. We’ve always avoided countries where soldiers are used as police officers. That’s a sure sign of a complete loss of control.”
Jeff Black objected less to the decisions of the commander-in-chief than the cost, writing: “I remember the halcyon days when it was almost two dollars to the pound and it felt like there was a permanent sale on.”
Karl Gibson took a different view: “I’ve been three times this year. It’s the friendliest I have ever seen the border security. You can also walk around any American city and not have your phone or watch nicked.” Has the US lost its lustre for holidaymakers? Send me your stories here, and they may get selected to appear in a future edition of From the Editor PM. You can sign up here to read the responses. | | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
The solution to yesterday’s clue was CONVICTED. Come back tomorrow for the answer to today’s puzzle. | | Finally, we have launched a second edition of this newsletter: From the Editor PM. It will land in your inbox in the early evening to update you on the day’s headlines and bring you the best analysis, comment and features from our London and Washington newsrooms. To sign up, click here.
Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. Please let me know what you think of this newsletter. You can email me here. | |
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