China has slammed British media reports that a man arrested on suspicion of espionage was collecting intelligence for Beijing, calling the allegation a “political farce.” “We firmly oppose it and urge relevant parties in the UK to stop their anti-China political manipulations and stop staging such a political farce,” a Chinese embassy spokesperson said. in London questioned about these allegations.
“The claim that China is suspected of ‘stealing British intelligence’ is completely fabricated and is nothing more than malicious slander,” he lambasted. Police in the United Kingdom announced on Saturday that they had arrested a man in his twenties at his home in Edinburgh for espionage.
According to the Sunday Times, he is a researcher who had contact with MPs from the ruling Conservative Party while working in Parliament. Metropolitan Police officers arrested him and another man in his 30s in March on suspicion of breaches of the Official Secrets Act.
Both were released pending a new stage of the procedure in early October, London police said without further details. These arrests led British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to express to his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang on Sunday, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, his “deep concern” about “interference” from Beijing “in British parliamentary democracy”.
This article is originally published on .lefigaro.fr