The future of the UK is at 'greater risk now than at any point in my lifetime,' says David Lidington, former de facto deputy prime minister

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• The future of the UK is at "greater risk now than at any point in my lifetime," says David Lidington.
• The former de facto deputy prime minister and ex-senior government minister said Boris Johnson's government faced a "battle" in trying to keep Scotland in the UK.
• He also warned that failure to prepare Northern Ireland for Brexit could put more strain on the union.
• In an interview with Business Insider, Lidington said there had been a "knee jerk" reaction from some Conservative MPs towards China.
• Several MPs have called for more action against Beijing after Johnson's government stood up to China over Hong Kong and decided to remove Chinese telecoms firm Huawei from the UK's 5g network.
• However, Lidington said the UK had to try to maintain a relationship with President Xi Jinping.
• "What I get impatient with are people who call for something to be done or a stronger line to be taken without actually saying what it is they propose," he said.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The risk of the United Kingdom breaking up is the greatest it has been for generations, according to former senior UK minister David Lidington, who warned that "it's not going to be easy" to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom.

Lidington, who held several ministerial positions and was de facto deputy prime minister to Theresa May before quitting elected politics last year, said: "My view is the union is at greater risk now than at any point in my lifetime."

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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• A senior Merkel ally says China is an 'ever more powerful snake' that Germany will take the fight to

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