PRESS REVIEW – Friday, October 17: In rare comments, the head of Britain's MI5 warns that China is a daily national security threat, sparking outrage over why charges were dropped against two men accused of spying on Britain for China. Also: the first New York mayoral debate took place with the cost of living, rent and Israel taking centre stage. Plus: the British Museum will roll out the pink carpet this weekend for its inaugural fundraising Pink Ball!
We start with a China spying scandal that’s dominating the British front pages. In rare public comments on Thursday, Ken McCallum, the head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5, said that China poses a daily threat to British security, words echoed on the front of the Daily Mirror. His comments have now put pressure on British authorities – notably the government and prosecutors – to explain why charges levelled against two men, Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, for spying for China were dropped just before they were due to stand trial. The case was widely considered a slam dunk but the Daily Mirror explains that prosecutors believed China was not considered an enemy of the UK at the time that these state secrets were alleged divulged to Beijing, which was 2021-23. As The Wall Street Journal explains, the British opposition has used this case to attack PM Keir Starmer, accusing him of pandering to the Chinese state by dropping the case to expand bilateral trade ties, something Starmer has vehemently denied.
The story is garnering lots of opinions in the editorial pages too. The Daily Mirror says the British government needs to decide where it stands on China: is it a foe or a trade friend? Meanwhile, the Chinese state-run press Global Times relays comments from Chinese ministries as vehemently denying the allegations of spying, while noting that the scandal has been turned into a "partisan brawl" in the UK.
In New York, the first debate between candidates in the mayoral election race took place on Thursday night. The vote pits the Democratic candidate and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani against former governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent. The third candidate is the Republican Curtis Sliwa, founder of the unarmed crime prevention non-profit Guardian Angels. As The New York Times reminds us, the elections has huge stakes – the mayoral budget of New York is $100 billion and the mayor is in charge of running America’s largest school system and biggest local police department. The New York Times calls the first debate "bitter and combative". Mamdani attacked Cuomo on issues like affordable rent in New York City, while Cuomo tackled him over his limited political experience and his views on Israel. Mamdani is a fierce critic of Israel and was forced to reiterate his belief that Hamas should lay down its arms, after previously refusing to answer the question. The wide-ranging debate also asked candidates about their average grocery bill and rent and rather randomly, whether the candidates would participate in a New York parade!
However, it appears there was no clear winner from the debate. The Conservative tabloid New York Post deplores Mamdani's "vile views and worse politics". He flopped in the debate, it says, with his answers defensive and him appearing like a petulant graduate student. Nonetheless, it concedes that if Mamdani did badly, Cuomo did worse, failing to halt Mamdani's march to mayoralty in New York. Politico disagrees, however. The website declares Mamdani the winner of the debate, adding that there were no major slip-ups on his part and that he dominated much of the two-hour debate with his affable, calm demeanour.
Finally, this weekend the British Museum is hosting the inaugural Pink Ball, its equivalent of the Met Gala. The Times of London reports that some 800 guests will grace the pink carpet rolled out at the British Museum for the inaugural fundraising Pink Ball. Tickets will be sold for £2,000 each. It's the brainchild of Nicholas Cullinan, the director of the British Museum. He denies that it's just a copy of the Met Gala, saying the focus will be on the diversity of culture with guests from academia, film, literature, music, sports and politics. This year's theme is inspired by India, so Indian food will be served and the event co-hosted by Isha Ambani, an Indian businesswoman, with music provided by Anoushka Shankar.
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