Kuenssberg asks Cleverly about the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London Susan Hall, who retweeted a tweet that called the capital "Londonistan" and liked a tweet carrying the message: "It’s never too late to get London back."

The foreign secretary is asked whether he is comfortable with that.

Cleverly says Hall is "comfortable working with people across ethnic representations" and “wants to make sure London is a safe and prosperous place to work.”

Cleverly adds that "of course he wouldn't" condone comments attacking Sadiq Khan's ethnicity, but has not seen the comments himself.

Kuenssberg asks if the government is not being explicit enough about the threat from China.

"We have to engage with China," he says.

"There are a number of issues, including sanction of parliamentarians, Hong Kong, and respecting each other's democratic systems - or in their case political system he says", and adds the best way to raise these issues is to do that "face to face."

Moving to relations with China and Kuenssberg asks the foreign secretary about the accusations of spying in Parliament. Did you raise this specific case on your recent visit to Beijing, she asks Cleverly?

Cleverly responds by saying he cannot comment on security matters. He adds that he and the prime minister always talk about actions seeking to "undermine or distort our democracy".

Kuenssberg asks whether viewers will think that Cleverly did not raise this issue? “The prime minister has raised similar issues before in Parliament,” he replies.

On several occasions, Cleverly answers Kuenssberg's questions by saying he cannot comment on security matters, and adds that the while the UK does raise issues of international interference, he cannot talk specifically on security matters such as this one.

"Do you accept the UK's spending power significantly diminished?" Cleverly is asked.

He says the government has been forced to reduce its spending on foreign aid.

"You are not forced, it is a political decision," Kuenssberg insists.

"When you have less money to spend of course it has an impact," he accepts.

He adds that what he has been trying to make sure is the UK has been "maximising the use of what we have got to spend."

"Even in most difficult times we are still spending more on Official Development Assistance than under any Labour government."

Asked whether the UK's role on the world stage is diminished, he replies: "All financial decisions have implications. We don't sit back, we do something."

What are the consequences of the UK cutting its aid budget, Kuenssberg asks, down from £15bn in 2019 to £12bn in 2023?

Cleverly says we must recognise that the aid budget is defined by the scale of the economy.

"The UK had to respond to the Covid pandemic, but despite this, the country remains one of the biggest aid donors in the world."

He adds that the UK is investing in innovation and new technologies, and trying to maximize the effectiveness of the aid budget.

Kuenssberg asks Cleverly if the UK has to take some responsibility foir helping Libya because it intervened militarily to remove the dictator Muammar Gaddafi?

"We'll continue to do whatever we can, to work with international partners," Cleverly answers - saying he discussed this on his recent trip to Turkey.

"Libya has not recovered from the civil war, the UK played an active part in the Berlin process which is an international coalition to try and get the elections done and get a high functioning government - unfortunately we have not been successful."

Kuenssberg insists the UK has some responsibility. Cleverly says "the whole international community is working towards this, and of course we want to play our part".

Cleverly adds it's not just about sending aid and supplies to Libya.

They need to be received in the country, have the right logistics help and the right authorities to liaise with.

In eastern Libya, those things are "simply not in place", he says. And that makes it so much harder.

Kuenssberg says Libya needs more help, more expertise, and more technology to deal with the aftermath of the floods. What is the UK doing to help, she asks the foreign secretary?

James Cleverly says the situation is very difficult in Libya. There is no functioning government in the east of the country which is why it so difficult to get help there.

Having heard from the BBC's Anna Foster in Derna, where flooding has devastated the Libyan city with the loss of thousands of lives, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is speaking now.

Image source, PA Media

The BBC's Anna Foster has an update from Libya, where she says that thousands of people were swept away by the floods.

"You expect to see so many more trucks by now," she says, "They don't have what they need."

The show starts with Laura Kuenssberg talking to her panel about the allegations against Russell Brand.

Nimco Ali, a former government advisor, says she'd like to hear about efforts to tackle violence against women and girls from the foreign secretary, James Cleverly.

She calls it a "global pandemic".

Image source, PA Media

The panel are now discussing the comedian and actor Russell Brand, who has been accused of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse during a seven-year period at the height of his fame.

The allegations were made in a joint investigation by the Sunday Times, the Times and Channel 4's Dispatches.

Four women are alleging sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013.

Brand has denied the allegations and said his relationships have been "always consensual".

Read more here.

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg is live now on BBC One, the BBC News Channel, BBC iPlayer and here on this page.

Expect questions on a range of issues, including Britain's stance on China and aid spend in disaster-hit regionssuch as Libya and Morocco.

You can follow the programme live by clicking the Play button at the top of this page.

Image source, PA Media

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited China last month, the first trip by such a senior UK figure in five years.

After meeting China's vice president, he said the visit would help avoid "mistrust and errors". Speaking to the BBC after meeting Chinese officials, Cleverly said his visit was an opportunity to speak "directly and unambiguously" on areas of disagreement and "work together where it is in our mutual interest to do so".

He said it would allow the UK to "re-establish lines of communication" and added that a lack of face-to-face engagement could lead to"more opportunities for perhaps misinterpretations, mistrust and errors".

His visit came as the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee criticised the government's approach to China in a report on UK policy in the Indo-Pacific., external

It described the activities of the Chinese Communist Party as "a threat to the UK and its interests".

Image source, Getty Images

As we‘ve reported, Ian Russell - and many other parents - have been tirelessly campaigning for new laws which will regulate tech companies and protect users from illegal and harmful content. Known as the Online Safety bill, it has taken years to get through parliament.

It was introduced in March 2022 under Boris Johnson's government and has been repeatedly altered during its passage through Parliament.

Critics of the bill claimed parts of it posed a risk to free speech, but the bill is returning to the House of Commons on Tuesday for its final stages, and is expected to become law before Christmas.

In June this year, Russell said: "It's absolutely vital if we're to learn lessons and find out how to make this great and fantastic digital world safer for everyone, and particularly children, to use.”

Stick with us as we bring you what Russell has to say, and don't forget you'll be able to watch by clicking Play at the top of this page.

As usual, you’ll be able to stream Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg live at 09:00 BST without leaving this page - click the Play button at the top of this page to do so.

The show will also be available on BBC One and iPlayer.

We’ll also be bringing you the key quotes, news lines and video clips on this feed.

Many of Sunday's papers lead with what the Sun on Sunday, external calls the "bombshell allegations" about Russell Brand. The Sunday Times, external describes him as an alleged "sex predator who hid in plain sight", saying rumours of "sinister behaviour" were "said to have been an open secret" in the industry.

Read a full rundown of the morning’s papers here.

Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

Too boring? Too serious? Too left wing? Too right wing? Too much of a mystery still?

For a long time, Keir Starmer's Labour has been miles ahead in the opinion polls. And even before that, for a very long time, he has faced calls to be more explicit about his priorities.

When he ran to become leader, promising "moral socialism", I wondered what his priorities were as he did his first interview as part of his campaign to take on the job.

Even then, he carefully refused to say if his politics were closer to Jeremy Corbyn's or Tony Blair's.

Read Laura’s full analysis here.

As always, a panel of guests are in the studio to help Laura Kuenssberg pick apart this week’s interviews and look more broadly at the issues raised. Sharing their thoughts this week will be:

• Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh - a best-selling author renowned for novels such as Trainspotting and Glue
• Columnist Jane Moore - who writes for The Sun newspaper and is also known for being a regular panellist on ITV’s Loose Women
• Social activist Nimco Ali - the CEO of The Five Foundation, which advocates for better funding streams to women in Africa

Image source, PA Media/Getty Images

Let’s have a look at who Laura’s guests are this week.

James Cleverly was made foreign secretary this time last year when Liz Truss vacated the role as she became prime minister. He was previously, albeit briefly, education secretary but was a minister in the Foreign Office, with responsibility for Europe and North America, when Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Cleverly served in the army, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Labour's Pat McFadden recently got a new job as the party's shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and national campaign co-ordinator. McFadden has served as member of parliament for Wolverhampton South East since 2005, and was also shadow chief secretary to the treasury before being moved in the recent shadow cabinet reshuffle.

Turning to the issue of the Online Safety Bill, Ian Russell will be in the studio. His daughter Molly Russell ended her life in 2017 aged just 14 after viewing suicide and self-harm content online. Last year a coroner ruled images of self-harm and suicide she viewed "shouldn't have been available for a child to see". Ian has long campaigned for better protection online from social media platforms.