Legal experts have questioned the explanation given by the Crown Prosecution Service for its sudden decision to drop charges against two Britons accused of spying for China amid a political row over who was responsible. The expert lawyers expressed surprise that the CPS thought it needed further assurance from the government that China was an enemy insofar as it posed “a current threat to national security” before the trial of Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry could go ahead. The former director of public prosecutions Ken Macdonald said in a BBC…
Tag: UK security and counter-terrorism
China threatened to retaliate against UK over foreign influence rules
China threatened to retaliate against the UK government if ministers targeted parts of its security apparatus under foreign influence rules, the Guardian can disclose. Chinese officials warned the Foreign Office that the move would have negative consequences for relations soon after the Guardian reported it was under consideration, according to two government sources with knowledge of the discussions. The disclosure will raise alarm bells given that ministers have so far refused to apply stricter foreign influence rules on lobbyists acting for China or any part of the Chinese state. Only…
China cyber-attacks explained: who is behind the hacking operation against the US and UK?
The US and UK have imposed sanctions on individuals and groups that they say targeted politicians, journalists and critics of Beijing in an extensive cyber espionage campaign – allegedly operated by an arm of China’s ministry of state security. The scale of the operation was revealed on Monday, although some of the attacks have been previously reported on. On Tuesday, New Zealand blamed “state-sponsored” Chinese hackers for a 2021 cyber-attack that infiltrated sensitive government computer systems. Who is behind the cyber-attacks? Both the UK and US point the finger at…
GCHQ warns of fresh threat from Chinese state-sponsored hackers
The UK’s cybersecurity agency has urged operators of critical national infrastructure, including energy and telecommunications networks, to prevent Chinese state-sponsored hackers from hiding on their systems. The National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, issued the warning after it emerged that a Chinese hacking group known as Volt Typhoon had targeted a US military outpost in the Pacific Ocean. The so-called Five Eyes intelligence group – the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – issued a joint notice detailing the nature of the Volt Typhoon threat and how…
UK cyber security chief to warn of China’s rise as a technology superpower
China poses an “epoch-defining” challenge to the west, the head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is reportedlyto warn. Lindy Cameron, who is the director of the GCHQ arm, will use a speech in Belfast this week to warn the UK and allies of the “dramatic rise of China as a technology superpower”. The remarks, to be delivered this week at the CyberUK annual conference, come as the US, the UK and western nations attempt to navigate the growing economic and political reach of China amid concerns about the…
Size of UK’s nuclear submarine fleet could double under Aukus plans
The UK’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet could double in size as plans were revealed for the new “Aukus” vessels to be based on a British design. In a bid to counter the growing threat from China, the UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, vowed alongside his US and Australian counterparts to stand “shoulder to shoulder” to protect peace in the Indo-Pacific given its implications for security across the world. A “historic” deal 18 months in the making was announced by the three leaders in Point Loma, San Diego, that will see new…
Of course China’s balloon was spying. States all spy on each other – and we all benefit | Jonathan Steele
Long ago, in May 1960, an American U-2 spy plane took off from Pakistan to fly at high altitude across the Soviet Union as part of a mission to photograph key facilities and military sites on behalf of the CIA. The Russians saw it and shot it down. The pilot, Gary Powers, managed to descend by parachute and was arrested. In Washington, the Eisenhower administration lied about his mission, claiming the U-2 was a “weather plane” that had strayed off course after its pilot had “difficulties with his oxygen equipment”…
Chinese cameras leave British police vulnerable to spying, says watchdog
British police are leaving themselves open to spying by Beijing because of their reliance on Chinese-made cameras, according to a report from the government’s independent watchdog on surveillance. Most forces across England and Wales use camera equipment that is either made in China or contains important Chinese components, the biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner has warned. Fraser Sampson, the publicly appointed commissioner, warned that such equipment poses both security and ethical concerns, at a time when tensions with Beijing are already high. The report comes a day after the prime…
Newport semiconductor factory: ‘Losing these jobs would be devastating’
The clean room in Newport, south Wales, is the size of a football field, but in the industry they call it a ballroom. Workers in full bodysuits move silicon wafers from one end to another in a series of careful steps. The 20cm slices of silicon are rigorously cleaned in chemical baths before light is used to draw precise patterns that are then etched out. It all takes place in an orange gloom to prevent light-sensitive chemicals from reacting. After robots and people test for defects, the owner Nexperia ships…
How MI5 uncovered a Chinese ‘agent’ in parliament
Last week Britain’s security services issued an extraordinary warning to parliament naming Christine Lee, a well-known lawyer in London’s Chinese community, as an agent working covertly for the Chinese government. It is the first time MI5 has issued an “interference alert” relating to China and it cast a spotlight on the Labour MP Barry Gardiner, whose office received £584,177 worth of donations from Lee. Gardiner said he had been “liaising with our security services for a number of years about Christine Lee”. He added: “All the donations were properly reported…