China has lashed out at the United Kingdom, saying reports that a UK parliamentary researcher had been arrested on suspicion of spying for China were “malicious slander”, according to the UK’s Sunday Times.
The UK’s Sunday Times reported that the 28-year-old researcher, who had been teaching in China after graduating from university, had been arrested in March. Alicia Kearns, a ruling Conservative party MP who chairs the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, had employed him. The suspected spy has also been connected to Security Minister Tom Tugendhat who has been critical of Beijing and is the founder of the China Research Group, which brings together Conservative MPs looking for “fresh thinking” on China.
Beijing imposed sanctions on a number of British MPs, including Tugendhat. The UK’s Metropolitan Police reported that two men had been arrested – a man in his 20s on suspicion of spying and a man in his 30s on suspicion of offences under the Official Secrets Act. Both were arrested in March and bailed until October, they added.
Following reports of the arrests, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang at the G20 summit in New Delhi that he had “very serious concerns” about Beijing’s “interference” in democracy. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London, however, said the reports were “malicious slander”. The spokesperson said in a statement published late on Sunday:
“The claim that China is suspected of ‘stealing British intelligence’ is completely fabricated and nothing but malicious slander. We firmly oppose it and urge relevant parties in the UK to stop their anti-China political manipulation and stop putting on such self-staged political farce.”
The Sunday Times reported that the suspected spy was raised in an intelligent family of doctors, lived in an affluent suburb of the Scottish capital and subsequently became an influential parliamentary figure.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Kearns, who is also in the China Research Group, said she was aware of the allegations and would not be commenting.
