|
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden is due to make a statement
on the issue to parliament on Monday, a government official
said, declining to confirm whether he will also announce
reprisals including sanctions.
There has been growing anxiety about China’s alleged espionage
activity in Britain, particularly after it emerged last year
that a parliamentary researcher was arrested on suspicion of
spying for China.
A group of British lawmakers who are well known critics of China
have been called to a briefing by parliament’s director of
security on Monday, a source told Reuters.
Ahead of Dowden's statement in parliament, British media also
reported that the government is expected to blame Beijing for a
hack on the country's Electoral Commission. The attack dates
back to 2021 and was disclosed last year and allowed hostile
actors to access the details of millions of voters.
The government said last year that Chinese spies are targeting
British officials in sensitive positions in politics, defence
and business as part of an increasingly sophisticated spying
operation to gain access to secrets.
The Chinese embassy in London did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
Last year, the embassy accused the British government of "making
groundless accusations" when the head of MI5 accused China of
carrying out an espionage campaign on an "epic scale".
Britain's domestic intelligence service MI5 has said it is now
running seven times as many investigations into Chinese activity
as it did in 2018 and plans more.
In 2022, MI5 issued a rare security alert, warning members of
parliament that a suspected Chinese spy was "involved in
political interference activities" in Britain.
(Writing by Sarah Young; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Philippa
Fletcher)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
