China Accuses Keir Starmer Of 'Speculation And Fabrication' Over Spying Claims

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/676165491400001500de3311.jpg?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt="Keir Starmer has been keen to improve relations with China." data-caption="Keir Starmer has been keen to improve relations with China." data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="WPA Pool via Getty Images" />Keir Starmer has been keen to improve relations with China.</div><div class="content-list-component text"><p>China has accused <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/keir-starmer/">Keir Starmer </a>of “speculation and fabrication” amid claims the communist country is mounting “large-scale espionage operations” against the UK.</p><p>The comments, by the Chinese embassy in the UK, follow <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/chinese-spy-trial-5-key-questions-as-espionage-row-rumbles-on_uk_68f08d10e4b0ab08d318d2ce">the collapse of the trial of two British men</a> accused of spying for Beijing.</p><p>That has sparked a furious political row, with the government accused of sabotaging the case to avoid damaging its attempts to improve economic links with China.</p><p>In an attempt to defuse the row, Starmer approved the release of three witness statements Matthew Collins, the deputy national security adviser, gave to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as it sought to build its case.</p><p>In them, Collins said that China posed a “threat to our people, prosperity and security” due to its spying network in the UK.</p><p>On Thursday night, the Chinese embassy said in a statement: “The so-called testimony released by the UK after the prosecutor’s withdrawal of the case is filled with all kinds of groundless accusations against China. It is pure speculation and fabrication. We strongly condemn it.”</p><p>The statement went on to urge the “releva