Nigel Inkster

@__Inty__ 既然如此，我们是否可以认为俄罗斯会停止对拥有独特文化的民主独立国家乌克兰的攻击？

俄罗斯总统普京会见中国国家主席习近平时称，俄中在外交事务中的合作是“国际舞台上的主要稳定因素之一”。他还表示，双方捍卫“文化和文明多样性”、尊重各国“主权发展”，致力于建立“更公正、更民主的世界秩序”；在当前国际局势紧张的情况下，俄中尤其需要保持密切协调。

@dennisw5 Amen to that

We need a Japan that has a strong, centralized intelligence service given the threats we face in the Indo-Pacific. Hopefully, over time, it can become as strong a partner as any of the five eyes nations. Japan’s new spy agency: a shield against China or ‘militarist surveillance’? sc.mp/28yp3?utm_sour… via @scmpnews

Green candidate suggested Israel was behind October 7 attacks. Care in the Community clearly isn’t working thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…

@SariArhoHavren Totally agree

Digital sovereignty in the EU is a tricky and expensive ambition, and imo Europeans would need more tech realism. The focus should be on critical chokepoints, not full self-sufficiency. These could be more realistic starting points: 📌Chips below the cutting edge 📌Secure cloud for government and defence 📌Dual-use AI applications 📌Accept that transatlantic tech interdependence will persist 📌Not forgetting to follow through on non-Chinese telecom infrastructure

@joni_askola The best is the enemy of the good

Americans should take notes from Hungary on how to defeat MAGA. You don't beat far-right autocrats with far-left candidates. You win by offering someone the average voter is actually comfortable with, exactly how Magyar won over former Orbán voters

Morrisons manager sacked after 29 years ‘for tackling shoplifter’ Unbelievable. thetimes.com/uk/crime/artic…

@Sandbagger_01 This issue is a classic example of the displacement activity afflicting UK politics. Focus on short-term and ultimately trivial issues as a way of avoiding dealing with difficult long-term problems

BBC News - Starmer would have blocked Mandelson over vetting failure, says Lammy bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

@Sandbagger_01 Vetting is not a straightforward pass/ fail issue: there is always room for discretion though the benefit of the doubt should always be exercised in favour of the national interest.

Faisal Islam: Why the government is relaxed about Chinese car imports. All very well. But China is exporting older models with less range and performance than those sold on China. Consumers need to know that bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

Chinese retailer takes on Amazon with same-day promise. Interesting. I wonder whether anyone in HMG has considered such issues as what protections there are for customer data and how these will be policed thetimes.com/business/compa…

Trump learns that not everyone has a price via @FT. Indeed. Thucydides gives the drivers of conflict as fear, honour and advantage -φόβος, τιμή, ωφέλεια. All too often the importance of honour is under-appreciated. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/ac…

Iran war latest: Keir Starmer insists ‘this is not our conflict’. sadly, I don’t think the IRGC sees it that way thetimes.com/world/middle-e…

@dennisw5 Well someone has to tell them that this has to be solved through dialogue: otherwise, how would they know?

Thank God! This will end the crisis. China to send envoy to Middle East for mediation, foreign minister says reuters.com/world/china/ch…

@edwardstrngr @alessionaval @JohnHealey_MP I think the person who most needs to internalise this message is the Chancellor of the Exchequer

“Sir Keir take note, the UK will need to regenerate hard power.” Quite. ⁦@JohnHealey_MP⁩ take note, Defence Reform is needed urgently or that hard power won’t be generated, at any price… thetimes.com/article/690ee1…

@fbermingham Or even the cojones

@Sandbagger_01 Granted the FCO has like other government departments become risk-averse and process-driven. But good leadership can change that and there are people capable of providing the necessary leadership if given their heads.

"The process will result in approximately 2,000 job losses, or up to 25% of its total workforce - with fears of a jaw-dropping reduction of up to 40% in some London-based departments". Global Britain anyone?

@Sandbagger_01 Penny wise, pound foolish as ever. Successive governments have failed to appreciate and play to the UK’s strengths.

And there is Goodhart’s Law which holds that when a measure becomes an objective it ceases to be a useful measure spectator.com/article/the-re…

@SariArhoHavren I think this pretty much sums it up.

To describe the 🇬🇧–🇨🇳 relationship in this manner may sound tempting, but it would require both to have good intentions at heart. It is also tempting to think that China is different because the US has changed, but one must recognise that China is the same as always, and its ambitions have not changed. What it wants from the UK should be kept in mind: 📍Allowed to monitor and control the diaspora in the UK 📍Keep the British market open and reduce existing barriers (allow investments in critical infra) 📍Maintain access to its science and innovation activities and education 📍Maintain access to buy and acquire technologies 📍Take China’s interests into account in international relations, the WTO, the UN, possibly the Arctic, etc., and promote open trade, and not least China’s vision of global governance 📍And I believe that, in the long run, China wants unlimited access to the financial markets and will use it to expand RMB Internationalisation and finally take over and replace London’s financial expertise 📍And of course, it wants to split the special relationship with the US Does this sound like a recipe for a balanced relationship?

@JohnHemmings2 Though no doubt we will see legions of ambulance-chasing lawyers seeking judicial review. We suffer in this country from massive judicial overreach.

@NigelInkster So we don't know what info those cables carry, but imagine a financial "Pearl Harbor" on NYSE-LSE on the eve of a Taiwan crisis. Inserting wrong data or wiping large reams of trading data could have catastrophic results on the integrity of both markets.

“Beijing has made the embassy issue a priority in the UK-China relationship. Xi Jinping, China’s leader, raised the matter directly with Keir Starmer in their first phone call, in August 2024.” Which raises the question of “why”? theguardian.com/politics/2026/…