British security services have warned members of parliament that a suspected Chinese agent “knowingly engaged in political interference activities” inside parliament, authorities said on Thursday.
British House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle confirmed that it had e-mailed MPs to tell them of the incident, in consultation with the security services.
“The Speaker takes the security of members and the democratic process very seriously, which is why he issued this notice in consultation with the security services,” a spokeswoman for Hoyle said.
Photo: Reuters
The Chinese embassy in London denied the accusations, saying: “We have no need and never seek to ‘buy influence’ in any foreign parliament.”
“We firmly oppose the trick of smearing and intimidation against the Chinese community in the UK,” it added.
The security notice named the suspect as Christine Lee, saying that she had “knowingly engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party.”
The London-based solicitor reportedly donated ￡200,000 (US$274,647) to former Labour Party shadow cabinet member Barry Gardiner and hundreds of thousands of pounds to his party.
Former British prime minister Theresa May — whose Conservative Party has been accused of benefiting from millions in Russian money — presented Lee with an award in 2019 to recognize her contribution to Sino-UK ties.
Lee was also photographed with May’s predecessor, former British prime minister David Cameron, at an event in 2015, and separately with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Lee “facilitated financial donations to serving and aspiring parliamentarians on behalf of foreign nationals based in Hong Kong and China,” a statement from the speaker said, according to British media.
“This facilitation was done covertly to mask the origins of the payments. This is clearly unacceptable behavior and steps are being taken to ensure it ceases,” it added.
Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative leader and vocal critic of Beijing, demanded strong action after Britain’s MI5 intelligence agency warned of Lee’s activities.
“I say, as a member of parliament who has been sanctioned by the Chinese government, that this is a matter of grave concern,” he said.
China last year imposed sanctions on 10 UK organizations and individuals, including Duncan Smith, over what it called the spreading of “lies and disinformation” about human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Lee has not been arrested or deported, merely barred from entering parliament, he said.
A ship that appears to be taking on the identity of a scrapped gas carrier exited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, showing how strategies to get through the waterway are evolving as the Middle East war progresses. The vessel identifying as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Jamal left the Strait on Friday morning, ship-tracking data show. However, the same tanker was also recorded as having beached at an Indian demolition yard in October last year, where it is being broken up, according to market participants and port agent’s reports. The ship claiming to be Jamal is likely a zombie vessel that
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
NATIONWIDE BLACKOUT: US President Donald Trump cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, strangling the Caribbean island’s already antiquated grid Cuba’s national electric grid collapsed on Monday, the nation’s grid operator said, leaving about 10 million people without power amid a US-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the already obsolete generation system. Grid operator UNE on social media said that it is investigating the causes of the blackout, the latest in a series of widespread outages that last for hours or days and that this weekend sparked a rare violent protest in the communist-run nation. Officials ruled out a major power plant failure, but had still not pinpointed the root cause of the grid collapse, suggesting a problem with transmission. Officials said that
‘HEALTH ISSUE’: More than 250 women are hospitalized every day due to complications from unsafe abortions, and about three die, a study showed Jane had been bleeding heavily for days before finally seeking help, not from a hospital, but from the man who sold her the pills meant to end her six-week pregnancy. Abortions are strictly outlawed in the mainly Catholic Philippines, forcing women to turn to a patchwork of providers operating in the online shadows. While rare in practice, Philippine law allows for prison terms of up to six years for abortion patients and providers, leaving thousands of Filipinas to search for solutions in online forums where unlicensed sellers promote abortifacients. “It was very painful, as if my abdomen was being twisted,” said Jane, whose
RSS