![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/A5B9\/production\/_131052424_8212aa667f59fee9d2433ed775fefb42c7b299370_180_6000_33761000x563.jpg.webp)
<\/picture><\/span>EPA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe government is facing pressure to take stronger action against Beijing, after a parliamentary researcher was arrested amid accusations he spied for China. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Senior Conservative MPs have called for China to be categorised as a threat, a move backed by some cabinet ministers. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Rishi Sunak raised concerns about interference from Beijing with China’s premier while at the G20 in India.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The prime minister said an open dialogue with China was necessary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Police confirmed on Saturday that two men, one in his 20s and another in his 30s, were arrested under the Official Secrets Act in March.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Sources have told the BBC one of them was a parliamentary researcher involved in international affairs issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n As first reported in the Sunday Times, it is understood the researcher had links to several Conservative MPs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The BBC has approached him for a response but is not naming him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Both men have been released on bail, and the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, which oversees espionage-related offences, is investigating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Sunday Times reported the researcher had links to security minister Tom Tugendhat and foreign affairs committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns, among others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The arrest of the parliamentary researcher has renewed a debate which has been raging in the Conservative Party for months: Should the government take a stricter approach on China?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ministers have so far resisted branding Beijing a threat. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited Beijing in August – the first such visit in five years – and told the BBC it would not be “credible” to disengage. But there are growing calls for a rethink. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Senior Tory backbenchers, including former leader Iain Duncan Smith and MP Tim Loughton, have called for the government to act. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr Duncan Smith said it was “time for us to recognise the deepening threat that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) under (President) Xi now pose”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And Mr Loughton warned about “how far the tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reach into British institutions”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “Yet again the security of Parliament has potentially been compromised, reinforcing how we cannot view the CCP as anything other than a hostile foreign threat.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Some cabinet ministers, such as Home Secretary Suella Braverman, are understood to support a tightening of the rules too. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr Sunak said on Sunday that he had raised “very strong concerns” about any interference in British democracy with China’s Premier Li Qiang.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But he also said the UK should not be “carping from the side-lines” and it was better to be in the room raising concerns. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Justice Secretary Alex Chalk defended the current stance towards China on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He said the UK was right to “engage” with the country but Mr Sunak had highlighted the need to “proceed with caution”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee issued a long-awaited report in July, warning the government had been slow to come to terms with the security risks from Beijing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “It appears that China has a high level of intent to interfere with the UK government, targeting officials and bodies at a range of levels to influence UK political thinking and decision-making relevant to China,” the report said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Spy claims turbocharge debate on UK’s China stance<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n China spy claims as Parliament researcher arrested<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n UK approach to China spy threat inadequate – report<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Disengaging with China not credible, says Cleverly<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n Published at Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:52:01 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Government facing pressure to rethink China stance EPA By Nick Eardley BBC chief political correspondent The government is facing pressure to take stronger action against Beijing, after a parliamentary researcher was arrested amid accusations he spied for China. Senior Conservative MPs have called for China to be categorised as a threat, a move backed by… Continue reading Government facing pressure to rethink China stance<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-politics","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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