UK won’t allow Chinese involvement – says Sunak

Rishi Sunak said he will not allow China to interfere in the UK’s democracy. A parliamentary researcher was arrested for spying for China.

The Prime Minister told Members of Parliament that he informed the Chinese Premier during the G20 conference that any attempt to spy will not be allowed.

The Met Police said on Saturday that they arrested two men in March for breaking the Official Secrets Act.

The researcher says that the accusations are not true.

The man mentioned in a statement that he felt like he had no choice but to answer the accusations made in the media.

China denied the accusations of spying and the foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said it was false and intended to harm their reputation.

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has told Members of Parliament not to reveal the identity of the man, who the BBC is not naming, using parliamentary privilege.

During a speech to the House of Commons about the G20 summit in India, Mr Sunak told MPs: “I have made it very clear to China that we will not allow them to meddle in our democracy and parliamentary system.

We will protect our democracy and our safety.

I strongly told Premier Li that we will not allow any actions that try to harm British democracy. This kind of behavior is not acceptable and we won’t tolerate it.

When asked by Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Sunak said that Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had also talked about China’s attempts to meddle with UK democracy during his recent trip to China.

Sir Keir stated that incidents such as this demonstrate the ongoing dangers that we encounter.
‘Refreshingly perceptive’

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden mentioned that the government is considering the idea of examining Chinese government workers more closely in the UK.

Some Members of Parliament want China to be placed in the “higher category” of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, which was implemented this year.

When more countries are involved, China-linked organizations have to provide more information.

Some important members of the Conservative Party, including Liz Truss and Iain Duncan Smith, want the government to officially say that China is a threat to the UK. But so far, the government has not agreed with this.

Mr Dowden, speaking in the Commons, said that there is a good reason for this, but the government is currently deciding which countries should be included in the registration system.

He said that ministers were well aware of the difficulties China presents, but it would not be practical to completely cut off all relations with the country.

The Sunday Times reported that a researcher was arrested and had connections with some Conservative politicians like Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns.

They say that Mr Tugendhat didn’t have much contact with the man, and he didn’t work with him as a minister.

The arrest of the researcher has caused MPs to discuss again whether the UK should be tougher with China.

China is one of the UK’s most important trading partners, and British government officials often emphasize the importance of collaborating with China on major global concerns like addressing climate change.

However, the relationship between the two countries has become worse in recent years due to a number of problems. These problems include the violation of people’s rights in Hong Kong, which used to be a British colony, and China’s support for Russia during the war in Ukraine.