September 11th 2023.
Rishi Sunak is facing increased pressure to designate China a threat to national security, following the arrest of a parliamentary researcher on suspicion of spying for Beijing. This arrest, which took place under the Official Secrets Act, recently came to light. It has led to Prime Minister Boris Johnson confronting Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit in India on Sunday.
The PM slammed the ‘unacceptable’ interference in democracy in the brief meeting yesterday, and has pushed for China to be relabeled as a threat to Britain's safety and interests under new national security laws. Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Security Minister Tom Tugendhat have also advocated for this change. This legislation would require anyone working ‘at the direction’ of China or a state-linked firm to register and disclose their activities or risk jail.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former party leader who has been sanctioned by Beijing, was among Tories pressing the Prime Minister to strengthen his language towards China. He said: ‘The result is that China is penetrating all our institutions from universities to Parliament. Time to speak through strength not weakness.’
Despite his firm stance against Beijing, Mr Sunak has cited his confrontation with Mr Li as an example of the benefits of his policy of engagement rather than ‘shouting from the sidelines’. Labour’s shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has also argued that economic ties with Beijing could ‘over the long-term be a positive thing’.
The two suspects, a man in his 30s arrested in Oxfordshire and another in his 20s arrested in Scotland, were held on suspicion of offences under Section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911, which punishes offences that are said to be ‘prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state’. They were bailed until early October.
Tobias Ellwood, the Tory MP who chairs the Commons Defence Committee, has warned that the incident could be ‘part of a wider, long-term, Chinese strategy to infiltrate Parliament’. Labour MP Barry Gardiner has also received more than £500,000 in donations from a suspected Chinese spy prior to being warned by MI5.
It is clear that the UK is facing a potential threat from China, and the Prime Minister's meeting at the G20 Summit has certainly raised awareness around the issue. It is yet to be seen whether the government will take further action, but Sir Iain Duncan Smith's words of warning cannot be ignored.
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