She told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “China is the second largest economy in the world, it’s heavily integrated in our economy as it is with many of our allies. The allegations have led to increased pressure from China “hawks” in the Conservative Partyfor the Prime Minister to toughen his stance towards Beijing.ĭuring the Conservative leadership contest last year, Sunak described China as the “biggest long-term threat to Britain” but official language used since he took office has been softer, with the integrated review of foreign and defence policy calling it an “epoch-defining challenge”.īusiness Secretary Kemi Badenoch suggested that designating China a threat would “escalate things” with Beijing. The arrests were only revealed at the weekend and the researcher at the centre of the row had links with senior Conservatives, including security minister Tom Tugendhat and Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns.Ĭommons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will address MPs about the situation at the start of Monday’s business in the chamber. They have been bailed until early October. One of the men, in his 30s, was detained in Oxfordshire on March 13, while the other, in his 20s, was arrested in Edinburgh, police said.īoth were held on suspicion of offences under section one of the Official Secrets Act 1911, which punishes offences that are said to be “prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state”. Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, which oversees espionage-related offences, are investigating.
He was arrested along with another man by officers on March 13 on suspicion of spying for Beijing. “To do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for.” “I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party. However, given what has been reported, it is vital that it is known that I am completely innocent. “It is wrong that I should be obliged to make any form of public comment on the misreporting that has taken place. In a statement released through his lawyers, the researcher – who has not been officially named by police – said: “I feel forced to respond to the media accusations that I am a ‘Chinese spy’. The arrest under the Official Secrets Act led to UK prime minister Rishi Sunak confronting Chinese premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit in India on Sunday over “unacceptable” interference in democracy. The parliamentary researcher arrested in the UK on suspicion of spying for China has insisted he is “completely innocent”.
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