Alleged
Chinese spy who befriended Prince Andrew is ‘tip of iceberg’, Tory MP says
UK ministers
face pressure over Chinese spy scandal as MPs consider naming banned
businessman
Peter Walker
Senior political correspondent
Mon 16 Dec
2024 08.27 GMT
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/dec/16/prince-andrew-alleged-chinese-spy-naming
An alleged
Chinese spy who forged a close relationship with Prince Andrew is just “the tip
of the iceberg” of Beijing’s attempts to infiltrate the UK, a leading
China-sceptic MP has said.
Iain Duncan
Smith, a former Conservative leader, who is seeking an urgent Commons question
on Monday to quiz ministers about the issue, said Keir Starmer’s efforts to
create better links with Beijing had involved the UK “showing a massive amount
of weakness to China”.
If Smith’s
question is granted by the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, there is speculation that
other MPs, potentially from Reform UK, might name the alleged spy, who, under a
UK court order, can be referred to publicly only as H6.
Asked if the
fact the man had been identified by security services and banned from the UK
meant the threat in this case had been dealt with, Smith rejected this
argument.
“We’re
dealing with the tip of the iceberg,” he said, adding that Beijing’s united
front work department, tasked with establishing ties with influential people in
other countries, had about 40,000 operatives globally.
“The fact
is, there are many more like him in the UK. There are many more doing the job
that he’s been doing, and the fact he was leaving the UK tells you that he
realised at some point he was going to get caught.
“The reality
is that there are many, many more involved in exactly this kind of espionage
that’s taking place now. The reality for us is very simple. China is a very
clear threat.”
According to
court documents, the alleged spy was so close to the Duke of York, he was
authorised to act on his behalf in an international financial initiative with
potential partners and investors in China.
In the
judgment this month, which upheld the businessman’s exclusion from the UK, the
judge found he had “won a significant degree, one could say an unusual degree,
of trust from a senior member of the royal family who was prepared to enter
into business activities with him”.
Ministers
are coming under pressure to set a timeline to revive the foreign influence
registration scheme (FIRS), which had been delayed until next year, and to put
China on the enhanced category for threats.
Smith denied
that the delay was caused by the last government having made insufficient
preparations for the scheme: “Nobody with half a brain will believe a word of
that. The reality is it’s an excuse not to upset China.”
As part of
the partial reset of relations with Beijing, Starmer met China’s president, Xi
Jinping, at the G20 summit in Rio, the first meeting between British and
Chinese leaders in six years. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is expected to
visit Beijing soon.
Smith said
ministers had “turned a blind eye” to the use of slave labour in Chinese-made
solar infrastructure being bought by the UK, saying of the government: “They
are actually showing a massive amount of weakness to China, and they’re way
away from where Europe and the United States are.”
There is
unease about the government’s approach to China among some Labour MPs and trade
unions. Five new Labour MPs have joined the China-sceptic group – the
Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac).
Jim McMahon,
the local government minister, said the decision about naming the alleged spy
was “a matter for the courts” and MPs should be wary of pre-empting this.
“We do have
parliamentary privilege, and that should be exercised with caution, and the
overriding public interest has to be maintained, of course,” he told Times
Radio.
He added:
“From a personal point of view, it’s not something that I’d be queueing up to
do today in the context of the person being known to the authorities and the
matter being dealt with.”
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