Did China’s ‘spy’ infiltrate UK Parliament?

Days after a report came to light that the British police had arrested a parliamentary researcher on suspicion of spying for China, Beijing dismissed the allegations, dubbing them “pure fabrication”. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning also asked the United Kingdom on Monday (11 September) to “stop spreading false information". “The allegation of China spying on the UK is pure fabrication. China firmly opposes it. We urge the UK to stop spreading false information and stop its anti-China political manipulation and malicious slander,” Ning was quoted as saying by Reuters. Let’s take a closer look at the development. Did China spy on the UK? The UK police said on Saturday (9 September) that they had arrested two men – one in his 20s and the other in his 30s – in March under the Official Secrets Act. “Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service arrested two men on 13 March on suspicion of offences under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act, 1911,” London’s Metropolitan Police said, as per AFP. “A man in his 30s was arrested at an address in Oxfordshire and a man in his 20s was arrested at an address in Edinburgh,” the police added. “Searches were also carried out at both the residential properties, as well as at a third address in east London,” the force said in its statement. The police said the duo was later released on bail until October. According to UK newspaper The Sunday Times, the man in his 20s was a researcher at the UK Parliament and had access to several ruling Conservative Party MPs. [caption id=“attachment_13111722” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Chinese national flag at the Chinese embassy in London. AP[/caption] The 28-year-old Briton, who had previously worked in China, had links to UK security minister Tom Tugendhat and foreign affairs committee chair Alicia Kearns, and other senior Tory lawmakers. The researcher had a pass that gave him full access to the UK Parliament buildings, as per The Sunday Times. Sources told BBC that the parliamentary researcher was involved in international affairs issues. Tugendhat reportedly had contact with the suspect before he became security minister in September last year. Kearns, who as per The Sunday Times employed the researcher, refused to comment on the case. “While I recognise the public interest, we all have a duty to ensure any work of the authorities is not jeopardised,” the Conservative MP was quoted as saying by Sky News. UK PM talks to Chinese official UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday he raised the concern over Beijing’s interference in Britain’s parliamentary democracy during a meeting with Chinese premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi. “With regard to my meeting with Premier Li, what I said very specifically is that I raised a range of different concerns that we have in areas of disagreement. In particular, my very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is clearly unacceptable,” Sunak said, as per Reuters. Li attended the G20 Summit held over the weekend in India in place of Chinese president Xi Jinping. ALSO READ: From secret agents to police stations: How China spies on the West China reacts A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London called the reports of suspected espionage “malicious slander”. “The claim that China is suspected of ‘stealing British intelligence’ is completely fabricated and nothing but malicious slander,” the spokesperson said in a statement late Sunday, as per Al Jazeera. The Chinese spokesperson also urged the UK to stop “anti-China political manipulation” and to “stop putting on such self-staged political farce”. Researcher claims innocence The man whose identity has not been disclosed by the UK police claims he is “completely innocent.”

“I feel forced to respond to the media accusations that I am a ‘Chinese spy’. It is wrong that I should be obliged to make any form of public comment on the misreporting that has taken place,” the researcher said in a statement.

“However, given what has been reported, it is vital that it is known that I am completely innocent. I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” the researcher said, as per Reuters. 

UK govt’s cautious approach The British government on Monday refused to label China as a threat to the country. UK business secretary Kemi Badenoch said the country should refrain from dubbing China a “foe”. “China is a country that we do a lot of business with,” Badenoch told Sky News. “China is a country that is significant in terms of world economics. It sits on the UN Security Council. We certainly should not be describing China as a foe, but we can describe it as a challenge.” [caption id=“attachment_13111732” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] There have been previous allegations of China trying to politically interfere in the UK. Reuters File Photo[/caption] Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said the UK should use this “opportunity to engage with China, not to just shout from the sidelines”, reported Associated Press (AP). “We are always very clear-eyed about the risks. They do represent an epoch-defining challenge to the UK, (but) we do not think it is right to reduce the approach to just one word,” Blain told reporters. UK MPs slam China Speaking to Sky News, Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith called the spying allegations “very serious indeed”, adding it is “not the first time” that alleged Chinese spies have infiltrated Parliament. He said it is “puzzling” that the government “still does not want to call China a systemic threat”. As per BBC, Tory MP Tim Loughton branded China’s Communist Party a “hostile foreign threat”. He said, “This is yet further evidence of how far the tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reach into British institutions. “Yet again the security of Parliament has potentially been compromised, reinforcing how we cannot view the CCP as anything other than a hostile foreign threat”, Loughton added. Keir Starmer, Opposition Labour leader, called upon the British government to set a “clear” policy on China, rather than “division and inconsistency”. “The very big question now for the prime minister … is was this raised when these arrests took place back in March or has it only been raised now that it’s come into the public domain?” he was quoted as saying by Reuters. ALSO READ: 'Persistent' Chinese spy targets UK officials on LinkedIn, seeking classified information in exchange for money or trips Previous Chinese interference allegations There have been other reports of alleged Chinese espionage in the UK. Last year, British intelligence service MI5 warned that a Chinese government agent called Christine Lee had been “engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, engaging with members here at parliament”, reported AFP. In July, the UK Parliament’s intelligence and security committee claimed that Beijing was targeting the UK “prolifically and aggressively”, warning that the government did not have the “resources, expertise or knowledge” to deal with it. “It appears that China has a high level of intent to interfere with the UK government, targeting officials and bodies at a range of levels to influence UK political thinking and decision-making relevant to China,” the report said, as per BBC.  The latest spying allegations could further dampen relations between the UK and China, which have strained over recent years over security, investment and human rights. With inputs from agencies