11 September 2023 , 15:24
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Liz Truss today warned of infiltration of Westminster by China after a suspected spy for Beijing was unmasked.
In a rare intervention in Parliament, the former Prime Minister called on the Government to specifically earmark China as a “threat” to the UK. Ms Truss spoke out after a parliamentary researcher arrested on suspicion of spying for China insisted he is completely innocent”.
The suspect, who the Mirror is not naming, was described as a “very serious operator” who cultivated contacts across Westminster. Speaking after Deputy PM Oliver Dowden delivered an emergency statement to Commons on the arrest, Ms Truss said: “These are extremely worrying reports about the level on infiltration of Chinese-supported forces into our democracy.”
She urged the Government to “recognise that China is the largest threat, both to the world and to the United Kingdom, for freedom and democracy”. She went on: “The Government should designate it as such.”
Former Conservative leader and ex-Cabinet Minister Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who has been sanctioned by Beijing for repeatedly criticising the secretive state, said there was a “potential espionage cell operating in and around Westminster”. Shrugging off calls to brand China a threat, Mr Dowden claimed that "actions speak louder than words".
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He added: We are clear-eyed about that challenge and we must be able to look the Chinese in the eye and call out unacceptable behaviour directly, just as our Prime Minister was able to do with Premier Li at the G20 in New Delhi this weekend.”
The arrest of the 28-year-old Westminster researcher under the Official Secrets Act led to Rishi Sunak confronting Chinese premier Li Qiang at the summit in India over "unacceptable" interference in democracy. In a statement released through his lawyers, the researcher - who has not been officially named by police - said: "I feel forced to respond to the media accusations that I am a 'Chinese spy'. It is wrong that I should be obliged to make any form of public comment on the misreporting that has taken place.
"However, given what has been reported, it is vital that it is known that I am completely innocent. I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party. To do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for."
The Briton was arrested along with another man by officers on March 13 on suspicion of spying for Beijing, it was revealed by the Sunday Times. Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, which oversees espionage-related offences, are investigating.
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