Steerpike Steerpike

Steady Eddie gets his Far East readies

DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images

The Tory party has had a difficult relationship with China in recent years. David Cameron and George Osborne’s ‘Golden era’ of Sino-UK diplomacy foundered on the rock of Beijing’s actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang while Boris Johnson’s backbenchers have consistently urged a tougher line on tech companies like Huawei. 

The G7 summit in June illustrated the predicament facing ministers: maintaining pressure on President Xi over human rights violations while securing Chinese backing for global action on climate change. Tensions on Westminster’s green benches have played out behind the scenes in Whitehall too. Some urging a tougher line on China talk of being ‘brought back into line’ by No. 10 if they are perceived to go ‘too far.’

One former Downing Street aide who appears to have been on the more dove-ish side of the argument was Boris Johnson’s former City Hall colleague Eddie Lister, now ennobled as Baron Udny-Lister. Back in February the former deputy mayor of London was revealed to have brokered China’s purchase of a massive new embassy in Tower Hamlets at the same time he was being paid by both the seller of the site and the firm buying it for China.

Udny-Lister quietly left his post as the prime minister’s special envoy to the Gulf just two months later. Fortunately he has managed to land himself a new gig instead as paid advisor to HSBC’s chairman, Mark Tucker, whom he has known personally for some time. His focus will be on its work in the Far East and the multinational bank’s second headquarters in Hong Kong. 

In assessing the application, watchdog ACOBA agreed with the Cabinet Office that ‘there are significant risks associated with the seniority and broad scope of his role at No 10 and access to information’ but nevertheless waved it through. His role will likely include extensive travel around the Far East and beyond, given his brief to be an ‘ambassador-at-large’ for the firm and ‘familiarisation with appropriate key global clients.

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Steerpike
Written by
Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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