Save articles for later
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.
London: The British parliamentary aide accused of spying for Beijing says he’s no Chinese mole and that his work with an internal Conservative party pressure group on China was about educating others about the country’s Communist party.
Chris Cash, aged in his twenties, was hired by the Chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, and passed parliamentary vetting procedures to obtain a pass to work in Westminster.
Britain’s Houses of Parliament.Credit: Bloomberg
He was the key liaison for the China Research Group, set up by Kearns’ factional ally Tom Tugendhat, who was recently promoted to security minister and chaired the Commons’ committee before Kearns. Tugendhat also ran to be Conservative Party leader.
Cash is being investigated by the Met Police’s Counter Terrorism Command which inquires into allegations of breaches of the Official Secrets Act.
He said he was completely innocent.
“I feel forced to respond to the media accusations that I am a ‘Chinese spy’,” he said.
“It is wrong that I should be obliged to make any form of public comment on the misreporting that has taken place.
“However, given what has been reported, it is vital that it is known that I am completely innocent.
“I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party.”
Chris Cash.
Cash’s statement was released by Birnberg Peirce Solicitors, the same law firm representing the ISIS bride Shamima Begum, who was stripped of her UK citizenship after travelling to Syria to join the terrorist organisation when she was a teenager.
Cash was educated at a private school and spent time in China studying, where The Sunday Times, which first reported the story, said it was believed he was flipped, becoming a mole for Beijing.
Cash will protest his innocence to the British courts in October after being arrested in March.
The scandal has rocked Westminster and sent shockwaves through the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing community, which includes Australia.
In Canberra, opposition Home Affairs spokesman James Paterson said Australian MPs could easily be targeted by Beijing moles.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made a strong statement on China in the wake of a scandal involving an alleged spy.Credit: AP
It also forced UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to deliver an unusually stern statement on China to the House of Commons.
Sunak has previously avoided being critical of China, despite enormous pressure from his backbench, and has largely focussed on domestic politics rather than international affairs since becoming prime minister last year.
But on Tuesday, he used an address to MPs about the G20 summit to focus on China.
“The whole House is rightly appalled about reports of espionage in this building,” Sunak said.
“The sanctity of this place must be protected.”
Sunak said he made his views clear to China’s Premier Li Qiang, whom he met in Delhi at the summit.
“I was emphatic with Premier Li that actions which seek to undermine British democracy are completely unacceptable and will never be tolerated.,” he said.
He claimed that the Conservative government had “acted decisively” to curb threats from the Chinese Communist Party, citing the 5G decision.
The UK government has banned Huawei across the country.Credit: AP
The UK’s Huawei ban, a reversal of its original plan to let telecommunications companies continue using the Chinese equipment, took place over several years, involved two prime ministers, was responsible for the sacking of a Defence Secretary and was ultimately imposed because of US action.
Earlier this year, the Common’s Intelligence Committee handed down a scathing report saying that all aspects of British society had been infiltrated by the Chinese.
Sunak promised a response to that report very soon.
Recently, Richard Moore, the head of Britain’s MI6 spy agency said he devoted more resources to China than any other country or threat.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
Most Viewed in World
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article