LONDON ( AP ) – Two men, including one who was reported to be a parliamentary researcher, were charged with spying for China, British prosecutors said Monday.
Authorities said Christopher Berry, 32, and Christopher Cash, 29, were charged with “providing discriminatory data to a unusual status, China. ” They will appear at Westminster Magistrates ´ Court on Friday.
Between delayed 2021 and February 2023, police allege that the two people gathered, recorded, or otherwise communicated data that was “injurious to the health or interests of the state.”
According to Dominic Murphy, the head of the Metropolitan Police terrorism command,” this has been a pretty sophisticated investigation into really serious allegations.”
A member of the UK Parliament has been arrested for allegedly spying for Communist China ( t. co/NT6TOnl1hU
— Breitbart London ( @BreitbartLondon ) September 10, 2023
Information about the two men were not made public by government. However, Berry is reportedly an Oxfordshire-based educational, and The Sunday Times reported last year that Cash was a political scientist who held a complete granting lawmakers, workers, and journalists complete access to the Parliament buildings after security checks.
The report said Cash worked with senior politicians from the governing Republicans, including Alicia Kearns, who presently heads the strong Foreign Affairs Committee, and her father in that position, Tom Tugendhat, who is now safety minister.
Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of India, told Chinese Premier Li Qiang last year that he had raised the matter because he had “very serious concerns” about interference in British democracy.
Cash at the time released a statement confirming his innocence through a statement made by his attorneys at the time. The allegations were fabricated, according to a statement from the Chinese Embassy.
Additionally, three people were detained in Germany on suspicion of spying for China and making arrangements to transfer information about technology with potential military use on Monday.
British intelligence agencies have increased their alerts to Beijing’s covert activities in recent years.
UK Must ‘Wake Up’ to the Growing Issue of Chinese Spying – Ex-MI6 Chiefhttps ://t. co/mLxa8d2DGF
— Breitbart London ( @BreitbartLondon ) February 15, 2023
In 2022, the head of the MI5 domestic intelligence agency, Ken McCallum, named China, Russia and Iran as the leading security threats to the U. K. He claimed that various political figures were targeted and influenced by Chinese authorities, including those who were just beginning their political careers.
Iain Duncan Smith, a leading critic of China and former leader of the Conservative Party, and several British lawmakers last month admitted to having been the target of phishing and impersonation attempts by hackers affiliated with the Chinese government.
As American and British authorities announced a new wave of sanctions and criminal charges against hackers linked to the Chinese government, who are accused of launching a massive state-backed operation against officials and businesses, the lawmakers were addressing the lawmakers.
