Rishi Sunak says he has raised “very strong concerns” about Chinese interference in the UK’s parliamentary democracy

CNN
—

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak He said he had raised his “grave concerns” to the Chinese prime minister about possible Chinese interference in British democracy after the arrest of a member of Parliament on suspicion of spying for China.

speaking to reporters on G20 summit in New Delhi On Sunday, Sunak said he had used a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang to raise many concerns, including about “any interference in our parliamentary democracy”.

It comes after two men were arrested under the UK’s Official Secrets Act amid reports that a parliamentary researcher with alleged links to senior Conservative politicians including Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing.

The British newspaper The Sunday Times broke the story on Sunday, reporting that the researcher was arrested with another man on 13 March.

According to a statement issued by the London Metropolitan Police, the police arrested a man in his thirties in Oxfordshire, southern England, and a man in his twenties in Edinburgh, Scotland.

“The investigation is being conducted by officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, which is responsible for investigations into allegations of the Official Secrets Act and espionage-related offences,” the statement read.

After being brought to a police station in south London, the two men were released on police bail until an appointment in early October, according to the statement.

China’s embassy in London denied the spying accusations.

A ministry spokesman said in a statement: “The allegation that China is suspected of stealing British intelligence information is completely fabricated and nothing more than a malicious slander.”

“We strongly oppose this and urge relevant parties in the United Kingdom to stop their anti-China political manipulation and stop presenting such a political farce,” the statement added.

According to the Sunday Times, the detained parliamentary researcher was also linked to the chair of the British government’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Cairns.

In a post Saturday on X, formerly known as Twitter, Cairns declined to comment on the alleged ties, saying: “While I recognize the public interest, it is the duty of all of us to ensure that no action of the authorities is jeopardized.”

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a multi-party group focused on relations with China, said in a statement on Saturday 10/1/2019 that it was “appalled by reports of the infiltration of an individual allegedly acting on behalf of the UK Parliament.” to the British Parliament. People’s republic of China.”

The coalition continued: “It is up to the authorities to reveal the name of the accused person, and AIPAC is united in the hope that justice will be achieved quickly.”