From 18m ago MPs warned to avoid China-linked agents trying to contact them on LinkedIn, ahead of statement by security minister Dan Jarvis, the security minister, will soon make a statement to MPs about spying by China. (See 11.41am.) Ahead of that, MPs and peers have just been sent an email from the parliamentary authorities highlighting an espionage alert sent by MI5. It says: This alert highlights how the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) is actively reaching out to individuals in our community. Their aim is to collect information…
Tag: Espionage
MI5 issues alert to MPs and peers over Chinese espionage
MI5 has issued an espionage alert to MPs and peers warning that two people linked to the Chinese intelligence service are actively seeking to recruit parliamentarians. The two, who operate as headhunters on the LinkedIn professional networking website aiming to obtain “non-public and insider insights”, MI5 said, are also targeting economists, thinktank staff and civil servants for their access to politicians. The spy agency sent its warning about the two to Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the Commons, and his Lords equivalent, Lord McFall, on Tuesday morning, both of whom…
Xi Jinping cracks joke about spying with phones given to South Korean president
It would take someone with nerves of steel to joke about the security of Chinese smartphones in front of Xi Jinping. Step forward the South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, who, after being given a pair of smartphones by the Chinese leader before their state banquet at the weekend, wondered out loud if the devices were secure. Xi, who is not known for public displays of humour, laughed and smiled as Lee’s quip was translated into Chinese, before displaying some sharp wit of his own. Pointing at the phones, he…
Defence lawyers would have used Tories’ statements to dismiss China spy case, attorney general says
Richard Hermer says failure by Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly to describe China as a threat would have been seized on in trial Defence lawyers would have used Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly’s statements about China to dismiss a case against two men charged with spying for Beijing, the attorney general has argued. Richard Hermer told parliament “there would have been plenty of reference” by lawyers defending Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry’s to Conservative ministers’ policy positions had the trial gone ahead. Continue reading… The Guardian
Attorney general says, if spy case had gone to trial, Badenoch saying China not a foe would have helped accused get off – UK politics live
Lord Hermer gives evidence to joint committee on national security strategy about the China spy case Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary and former national security adviser, goes next. He is now a peer, and a member of the committee. He says the deputy national security adviser, Matthew Collins, thought there was enough evidence for the case to go ahead. But the CPS did not agree. Who was right? In 2017, the Law Commission flagged that the term enemy [in the legislation] was deeply problematic and it would give rise…
Missing ‘critical element’ caused UK China spying trial to collapse, say prosecutors
The government’s evidence in the China espionage trial was missing a “critical element” that meant there was “no other option” but to collapse the case, prosecutors insisted on Monday night. Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, did not directly blame anyone for the collapse of the trial but said the government’s refusal to describe China as a national security threat meant “all routes were closed”. Matthew Collins, the senior civil servant who drafted the government’s evidence, said he could not meet prosecutors’ demands because the Conservative government at that…
China spy row: Berry knew some of his contacts were non-commercial, messages suggest
Christopher Berry, the man at the heart of a controversial and now-abandoned Chinese espionage case, appeared to be aware that he was supplying information to a non-commercial client, according to messages seen by the Guardian. In August 2022, Berry sent a voice note saying that “they want me to work for them directly instead of going through the company”. The messages are included in an expert report written for Berry’s defence team by Kerry Brown, the director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London. The report was first…
Immigration system in crisis: sky-high hotel bills and a convict on the loose – podcast
Another week, another immigration crisis. A powerful parliamentary committee has accused the Home Office – for this government and the last – of squandering billions of pounds on asylum accommodation and overseeing a ‘failed, chaotic and expensive’ system. The report came days after the barely believable revelation that the convicted sex offender whose case sparked protests at the Bell hotel in Epping was accidentally let out of prison on Friday instead of being deported. He is now back in custody. Pippa Crerar and Eleni Courea discuss the ongoing firefighting at…
Minister insists government will get asylum seekers out of hotels and expects progress ‘within weeks’ – UK politics live
From 4h ago Minister says government committed to getting all asylum seekers out of hotels after report says system ‘chaotic’ Good morning. When Jimmy Carter was US president, he gave a famous address in 1979 saying the country was suffering a crisis of confidence. It became known as the malaise speech, and now it is widely regarded as a mistake, because it was unduly pessimistic and because, in the presidential election the following year, voters turned to the much more upbeat Ronald Reagaan. Yesterday Wes Streeting, the health secretary, had…
‘Super Dom’ Cummings cunningly waits five years to reveal national security lapses | John Crace
And … relax. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Super Dom! At a time of heightened worries about national security, who better than Dominic Cummings to shine a light on the murky world of spying? The man who turned a drive to Barnard Castle into an advert for SpecSavers. The man who gave us Brexit. Which one of us didn’t vote for a 4% hit to GDP? The man who gave us Boris Johnson. Truly, Dom has enriched us all over the past 10 years. Here’s…