At a time when heads of 20 nations gathered under a single roof for the G20 Summit in India including Britain's PM Rishi Sunak, China's illicit espionage activity was exposed once again after a researched in his 20s was arrested for allegedly spying for the communist nation inside the UK Parliament. Termed as one of the biggest breaches in security in the history of the United Kingdom, the parliamentary researcher had connections with senior Conservatives and potential access to sensitive information which was allegedly relayed to China. Notably, the seriousness of the breach in the UK Parliament and sensitive documents can be understood that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had to address it to Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit in India. UK's PM Sunak raised 'strong concerns' with the Chinese Premier. Now, the question arises Who is the parliamentary researcher accusing of spying for China? Below is what we know so far-
Who is the parliamentary researcher?
The exact name and location of the arrested parliamentary researcher have been kept under wraps by the UK authorities as the matter is sensitive. However, it is worth mentioning that the man, who is in his 20s was arrested in March along with another person, and is known to have held a parliamentary pass, allowing him unescorted access to large parts of the Westminster estate. As per MPs of the parliament, the arrested man had reportedly been able to work with a series of senior MPs, some of whom are now ministers, on foreign affairs issues, including relations with China.
To raise the concern, UK PM Sunak had an informal meeting with the Chinese Premier in India. Addressing the media, Sunak confirmed it and said, "I obviously can’t comment on the specifics of an ongoing investigation but with regard to my meeting with Premier Li, what I said very specifically is that I raised a range of different concerns that we have in areas of disagreement, and in particular, my very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is obviously unacceptable.”
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China's 'Sex & Money' Trap for UK Ministers and Officials,
It is pertinent to mention here that it is not the first time that Chinese Spies have breached the National Security of the UK. Chinese Spies have been hyper active in US and the UK starting from 2018. China has also allegedly used a network of "honey trap" spies to lure British and American officials with sex. The network of "beautiful women" were believed to be using platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook to connect with their prey before luring them in. For instance, in December 2020 it was revealed that US Congressman Eric Swalwell had a relationship with suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang. Christine Fang, originally known as Fang Fang reportedly had sex with two mayors and targeted politicians to infiltrate US political circles. Fang allegedly targeted aspiring politicians from 2011 to 2015 and had a reported focus on Swalwell. The suspected Chinese spy was believed to have been sent to gather information in the US by the Ministry of State Security in China.
Talking about the UK, in 2008, MI5 issued a warning that China may use "sexual relationships" to "pressurise individuals to cooperate with them". Not only this, UK media reports suggest that Boris Johnson's former No.2 when he was London Mayor, Ian Clement, revealed in 2009 that he believes he had sex with a Chinese spy. Clement alleged that he was lured into a honey trap while in Beijing, taking a woman up to his hotel room during the 2008 Olympics. Clement, who had been briefed by MI6 on the danger, was then drugged before finding the room had been ransacked.