China has accused Keir Starmer of “speculation and fabrication” amid claims the communist country is mounting “large-scale espionage operations” against the UK.

The comments, by the Chinese embassy in the UK, follow the collapse of the trial of two British men accused of spying for Beijing.

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.

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.

In them, Collins said that China posed a “threat to our people, prosperity and security” due to its spying network in

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