A scientist working at the UK Parliament has been taken into custody for breaking a law called the Official Secrets Act. There are accusations that he was gathering secret information for China.
The police arrested two men in March. One is in his 20s and the other is in his 30s.
People who know about the situation have told the BBC that one of them worked as a researcher for a parliament member and dealt with matters related to international affairs.
According to the Sunday Times, it is believed that the researcher had connections with multiple Conservative Members of Parliament.
On Sunday morning, the UK government stated that Rishi Sunak had raised concerns about China’s interference with a high-ranking Chinese official.
A spokesperson said the prime minister met with the Premier of China during a big meeting in India, and “expressed his worries about China’s involvement in the UK’s government system. ”
The Sunday Times said that the researcher had connections to the security minister Tom Tugendhat and the chairwoman of the foreign affairs committee Alicia Kearns, among other people.
Many government officials refused to talk about security matters.
The police in London said that they arrested one man in his 30s at a place in Oxfordshire, and another man in his 20s at a place in Edinburgh.
“Authorities searched both the houses and another address in east London. ”
Both men were brought to a police station in south London and later let go on police bail until a date in early October.
The special police unit in charge of handling terrorism cases is looking into crimes related to spying.
The researcher was able to talk to Mr Tugendhat before he became security minister in September last year.
It is said that Mr. Tugendhat did not have much contact with the man, and he did not do any business with him when he was a minister.
The Sunday Times said that there is a man who hasn’t been given a name. It was also mentioned that he lived in China for a while.
Conservative politician Alicia Kearns acknowledged the paper’s report but chose not to say anything about it. She explained that it is important to protect the work of the authorities and not put it at risk, even though she understands people are curious about it.
When asked about the report on a BBC show, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said he couldn’t talk about individual cases.
He supported the current approach with China, saying that the UK was correct to interact with the country. However, Sunak emphasized the importance of being careful when moving forward.
He said on Sky News, “I am confident that the parliamentary authorities will learn any necessary lessons. ”
Chinese spying worries.
The arrests will start the discussion again about London’s connection with Beijing. There is increasing worry about Chinese spying and meddling in Parliament, and people are asking if more should have been done to prevent these dangers.
Last year, there was a warning about Christine Lee’s unusual involvement in Parliament.
MI5 accused her of engaging in political interference by giving money to support the work of Members of Parliament. This was all said for China.
Other countries like Australia and Canada have also accused China of spying or interfering with their politics. However, the Chinese government has denied these claims.
In the past few years, there has been more and more conflict and worry about spying and other safety risks. But in the last few months, both the United States and the United Kingdom have been trying to make things better and improve their relationship with China.
The UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly went to Beijing less than two weeks ago and said to the BBC that it wouldn’t be believable to separate or disconnect.
In response to the arrests, Iain Duncan Smith, a Conservative MP, said it is important for us to understand the increasing danger that the Chinese Communist Party, led by President Xi, now presents.
He also criticized the UK’s way of dealing with China, asking: “What did Cleverly’s visit to Beijing, where he showed excessive respect and obedience, cost us. ”
Conservative Member of Parliament Tim Loughton said: “This shows even more proof of how much influence the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has in British institutions.
Once again, the safety of Parliament may have been put in danger, which reminds us that we have to see the CCP as a dangerous foreign enemy.
The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament released a report in July, saying that the government was not quick enough to recognize the security threats from Beijing.
The report said that China seems to really want to interfere with the UK government. They are targeting officials and organizations at different levels to try and influence the UK’s political thinking and decision-making about China.
This text says that there were difficulties in prosecuting cases related to spying because, at the time, it was not illegal to be a spy for another country.
MI5 and other intelligence agencies have always said that the old Official Secrets Act was not good enough for dealing with activities by unfriendly countries. The United States and Australia have been able to use more abilities.
New rules for investigating spying and other security dangers were put in place this summer in the UK. However, the arrest of the two men happened before these new rules were implemented.