LONDON: British police on Wednesday (Mar 4) arrested three males on suspicion of spying for China, together with the husband of a lawmaker from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ruling Labour celebration.
Chinese language espionage is a politically delicate topic in Britain and the case may doubtlessly grow to be awkward for Starmer who visited Beijing recently as a part of his resetting of relations with the Asian large.
The trio, aged 39, 43 and 68, had been arrested by counter-terrorism officers in London and Wales on suspicion of aiding a international intelligence service, London’s Metropolitan police mentioned.
“I’ve by no means seen something to make me suspect my husband has damaged any legislation,” mentioned MP Joani Reid after UK media reported that her husband David Taylor was amongst these arrested.
“I’m not a part of my husband’s enterprise actions and neither I nor my kids are a part of this investigation,” she added.
All three males stay in custody and the arrests come amid rising issues over alleged Chinese language espionage within the UK.
Starmer has been criticised by opposition politicians, human rights teams and US President Donald Trump for greenlighting an enormous new Chinese embassy in central London and for visiting Beijing earlier this yr.
The UK chief has repeatedly defended his go to to China, the primary by a British prime minister since 2018, as vital to forge nearer ties with the world’s second largest economic system.
Reid, who represents a constituency in Scotland and sits on parliament’s Dwelling Affairs Choose Committee, defended herself in opposition to any potential accusations of her being near Beijing.
“I’ve by no means been to China,” she mentioned. “I’ve by no means spoken on China or China-related issues within the Commons. I’ve by no means requested a query on China-related issues.”
Taylor, 39, is listed as a “lobbyist” on Reid’s listing of registered pursuits. In keeping with his LinkedIn web page, he works for Asia Home, a suppose tank.
