US secretary of state postpones China visit after spy balloon flies over Montana

Antony Blinken delays trip, as China claims balloon was for meteorological' purposes and was blown off course

• Spy balloons: what are they and why are they still being used?

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has postponed a planned visit to China this weekend after the intrusion of a high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace.

China had apologised for the incident, claiming it had been a weather balloon which had been blown off course, but US officials made clear they did not believe that explanation and the Pentagon restated its assessment it was a surveillance aircraft, adding that by midday Friday it had changed course and was over the centre of the country.