Philip Hammond reopens row with Gavin Williamson by saying UK-China relations ‘not made simpler’ by defence secretary’s threats

Chancellor admits comments about sending royal navy ship to South China Sea have damaged relationship with Beijing

Philip Hammond has risked reopening a cabinet rift with Gavin Williamson by suggesting the defence secretary has damaged UK relations with China.

The chancellor said the relationship with Beijing “has not been made simpler” by Mr Williamson’s threats to send a royal navy aircraft carrier to the Pacific.

The pair clashed last week after Mr Williamson’s comments prompted China to pull out of trade talks with Mr Hammond.

The defence secretary had insisted the UK should be ready to use “lethal” force against countries that “flout international law”. He said the new HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier would be deployed in the Pacific, close to an area where China is involved in territorial disputes over islands in the South China Sea.

Mr Hammond told BBC Radio 4’s Today that decisions on where to deploy the aircraft carrier would be made by the National Security Council, and admitted Mr Williamson had caused a diplomatic row with China.

Asked if relations with Beijing had been damaged by the defence secretary’s comments, the chancellor said: “It’s a complex relationship and it hasn’t been made simpler by Chinese concerns about royal navy deployments in the South China Sea.”

However, Mr Hammond said he was “disappointed that the Chinese have reacted in the way that they have”.

He added: “This is entirely premature. The aircraft carrier is not going to be at full operational readiness for another couple of years. No decisions have been made or even discussed about where its early deployments might be.

“And when those decisions are made, they will be made by the National Security Council.”

Asked if Mr Williamson should “button his lip”, Mr Hammond said: “I think that it is very important that we manage this relationship with China very carefully and that we do it through the National Security Council.”

Responding to the row last week, sources close to Mr Williamson insisted his speech had been signed off by No 10, the Treasury and the Cabinet Office.

Theresa May’s official spokesperson said: “Our relationship with China is a very important one. We have strong and constructive ties on a range of issues and we will continue to do so.”