This is a recording of the October 14, 2025 conversation with Charles Parton about the recent UK-China spy case and UK-China relations in general. Charles Parton OBE is the Chief Advisor to the China Observatory at the . He spent 22 years of his 37 year diplomatic career working in or on China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In his final posting he was seconded to the EU Delegation in Beijing, where, as First Counsellor until late 2016, he focussed on Chinese politics and internal developments, and advised the EU and Member States on how China’s politics might affect their interests.
Really looking forward to this when I get a moment later on. A while back when Bill was asking for guest suggestions, I nominated Charlie Parton.
The spying is so voluminous and outlandish that sometimes it's hard to remember everything that's happened over the years. https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/politics/rishi-sunak-china-spy-car-b2388890.html