After a parliamentary researcher was detained amid claims that he was spying for China, the government is under pressure to retaliate against Beijing more forcefully.
Senior Conservative lawmakers have demanded that China be classified as a threat, and some cabinet ministers support this idea.
At the G20 summit in India, Rishi Sunak voiced his concerns about Beijing’s meddling with the Chinese leader.
China has denied claims that it was snooping, referring to them as “malicious slander”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning urged the UK side to stop disseminating false information.
Two persons were detained in March in accordance with the Official Secrets Act, the police stated on Saturday.
A man in his 30s was detained at an address in Oxfordshire, while a guy in his 20s was detained at an address in Edinburgh, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Police.
Additionally, searches were conducted at the two residential homes and a third address in east London.
One of them, according to sources who spoke with the BBC, was a parliamentary researcher interested in world events.
It is believed that the researcher had connections to a number of Conservative MPs, as was initially revealed in the Sunday Times. He has been contacted by the BBC for a response.
The Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, which is in charge of espionage-related offenses, is looking into the case even though both individuals have been granted bail.
According to The Sunday Times, the researcher had contact with people like Alicia Kearns, chairperson of the foreign affairs committee, and security minister Tom Tugendhat.
Conservative MPs are now again debating whether the UK should be harder with China in light of the researcher’s imprisonment.
Some Conservatives want the government to declare Beijing a threat, but ministers have thus far refrained from doing so.
Senior Tory backbenchers have urged the government to take action, including Tim Loughton and former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
It is “time for us to recognize the deepening threat that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) under (President) Xi now pose,” according to Mr. Duncan Smith.
And Mr. Loughton issued a warning on “how far the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tendrils spread
“Yet again, the safety of Parliament may have been compromised, highlighting the fact that we must regard the CCP as a hostile foreign threat.”
“Elevate things”
Some cabinet members, including Home Secretary Suella Braverman, are rumored to be in favor of tightening the laws as well.
The UK must be “very careful with the language that we use,” Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch cautioned, adding that labeling China a threat would “escalate things.”
She said that the UK’s current posture, which describes China as a “epoch-defining challenge,” is consistent with that of British friends.
On Sunday, Mr. Sunak said that he had expressed “very strong concerns” to China’s Premier Li Qiang regarding any meddling in British democracy.
He said, however, that the UK should not be “carping from the side-lines” and that it was preferable to be present and voice concerns.
State of alarm
The definition of intelligence operations in China, according to Sir Alex Younger, the former head of MI6, is “far broader” than is commonly recognized in the UK and includes both information gathering and attempts to influence others.
He stated on the Today show on BBC Radio 4 that the UK has to “find ways of engaging” with China, particularly through collaboration on issues like climate change.
However, he asserted that the UK’s security regulations, which were amended earlier this year, should certainly classify the nation as a “state of concern” in order to impose additional reporting obligations on entities with ties to China.
“We must occasionally face China. I’ve found that merely being kind to them won’t get you very far,” he continued.
In a long-awaited report released in July, the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament cautioned the government for being sluggish to acknowledge the security dangers posed by Beijing.
“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 stated.
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