China News
CYBER WARS
China spying poses 'daily threat' to UK: MI5 chief
China spying poses 'daily threat' to UK: MI5 chief
by AFP Staff Writers
London (AFP) Oct 16, 2025

China now poses a "daily" threat to Britain, the head of the UK's domestic intelligence agency MI5 warned Thursday.

China, along with Russia and Iran, has fuelled a dramatic rise in the threats to the UK from foreign states, according to Ken McCallum.

The number of individuals being investigated for involvement in "state threat activity" had increased by 35 percent in the last year, he said.

He added that agents were "routinely" uncovering plots from foreign states to carry out surveillance, sabotage, arson or acts of physical violence in the UK.

In a speech at MI5's London headquarters, the service's director general also highlighted the "harassment and intimidation of opponents", including pro-democracy activists.

Asked whether China was a national security threat, McCallum said: "Question one is: do Chinese state actors present a UK national security threat?

"And the answer is, of course, yes they do, every day."

McCallum revealed that MI5 had launched an operation to foil a foreign threat in recent days.

"We've intervened operationally again just in the last week" against a "threat which connects back to China", he said.

His warnings come amid a row over the collapse of legal proceedings against two men accused of spying for China.

Beijing has firmly denied the spying accusations as "a total fabrication" and "a vile slander", adding that "China never interferes in other countries' internal affairs".

"The so-called testimony released by the British side after the prosecution withdrew the case is filled with all sorts of groundless accusations against China," a Chinese embassy spokesperson said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has faced accusations of killing the case to protect relations with China.

Late Wednesday, the government published three statements it had provided to the Crown Prosecution Service to back the case against the two men.

Multiple Western nations accuse Beijing of using espionage to gather technological information.

They have also accused hacking groups backed by China of a global campaign of online surveillance targeting critics.

The United States, Britain and New Zealand in March 2024 accused Beijing-backed hackers of orchestrating a series of attacks against lawmakers and key democratic institutions -- allegations that prompted angry Chinese denials.

What we know about Britain's collapsed China spy case
London (AFP) Oct 16, 2025 - The head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5 warned on Thursday that China posed a "daily" threat to the country, as a bitter row developed over the collapse of a spying case.

British lawmakers will now hold a formal inquiry into why prosecutors dropped the charges against two people accused of spying for Beijing, which has seen claims that the government in London deliberately intervened to scuttle the case.

In fast-moving, and often confusing, events, here is what we know so far about the saga, which has heaped pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer and raised questions about the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

- What's the latest? -

The head of MI5, Ken McCallum, said in a speech on Thursday that Beijing poses a threat "every day" and voiced frustration that the case had been abandoned.

"We've intervened operationally again just in the last week" against a "threat which connects back to China", he said.

Labour MP Matt Western told the House of Commons lower chamber on Thursday that parliament's committee on national security strategy, which he chairs, will launch an inquiry "as soon as we possibly can".

There are "a lot of questions yet to be asked", he said.

- What is the background? -

Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33, were arrested in 2023, accused of collecting information which could be "directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy" between December 2021 and February 2023.

The arrests sparked concerns of a major security breach as Cash was revealed to be a parliamentary researcher reportedly enjoying close ties with senior lawmakers from the Conservative Party, which was in power in the UK at the time.

The men were charged under the Official Secrets Act in April 2024. Cash and Berry, a teacher, denied the accusations.

The men allegedly gave politically sensitive information to a Chinese intelligence agent for about a year.

Information included one MP being likely to withdraw from a Tory leadership race and another tipped for a Cabinet position in support for a certain foreign policy stance.

The charges were dropped last month, with Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Stephen Parkinson alleging the UK government had failed to provide evidence that Beijing was a security threat.

- What was the government's response? -

Starmer -- himself a former DPP -- has insisted the decision to drop the case was taken solely by the prosecution service, which acts independently of the government and police, and said he was "deeply disappointed".

The Conservatives have alleged that Starmer's National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell pushed for the case to be dropped over fears that China could pull much-needed investment from Britain.

Starmer vehemently denied this in parliament on Wednesday, calling the accusation "a red herring, a completely scurrilous allegation".

A few hours later, the government published three statements provided to the CPS over past months by Powell's deputy Matthew Collins.

One statement from Collins said Beijing conducts "large scale espionage operations against the UK to advance the Chinese state's interests and harm the interests and security of the UK".

They "threaten the UK's economic prosperity and resilience and the integrity of our democratic institutions," he added.

But he also acknowledged it was "important for me to emphasise" that the government "is committed to pursuing a positive relationship with China".

Beijing has firmly denied the spying charges, with a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson saying: "We firmly oppose using so-called 'espionage activities' as an excuse to hype up, make issues, slander or smear."

- What is at stake? -

The controversy comes as Starmer tries to boost ties with the world's second-biggest economy and Britain's economic growth stagnates.

Under Starmer, Britain has struck post-Brexit trade agreements with the United States and India but not with its fifth-largest trading partner China.

Britain imported around �67 billion ($90 billion, 77 billion euros) worth of Chinese goods last year, with some �19 billion going the other way, according to UK official data.

It remains unknown exactly why prosecutors dropped the case and whether Starmer, who has been hit by political woes since his Labour Party won the July 2024 elections, could be in trouble.

Related Links
Cyberwar - Internet Security News - Systems and Policy Issues

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
CYBER WARS
UK's Starmer publishes evidence in collapsed China spy case
London (AFP) Oct 15, 2025
The UK government published evidence Wednesday it had submitted in now-collapsed legal proceedings against two men accused of spying for China, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to contain controversy over the failed case. Starmer's government has faced accusations of killing the case to protect relations with China, and his Labour administration and the independent prosecutors have been rowing over why it failed to proceed to trial. The Crown Prosecution Service said the case collapsed becau ... read more

CYBER WARS
Chinese astronauts complete fourth spacewalk of Shenzhou XX mission

Constellations of Power: Smart Dragon-3 and the Geopolitics of China's Space Strategy

China advances lunar program with Long March 10 ignition test

Chinese astronauts expand science research on orbiting space station

CYBER WARS
China sanctions five US units of South Korean ship giant Hanwha

Markets mixed as traders weigh China-US row, rate cut hopes

China consumer spending falls as pressure on economy builds

China says will 'fight to the end' in US trade war

CYBER WARS
CYBER WARS
Russia says no Putin-Trump call planned after Tomahawks warning

Trump says Spain should be 'punished' over NATO funding, considering tariffs

Spain says 'committed to NATO' after Trump expulsion threat

JPMorgan Chase touts $1.5 tn boost to US critical industries

CYBER WARS
Boron isotopes unlock secrets of nuclear waste glass corrosion

Poisson model solved opening path to stronger materials better groundwater management and safer nuclear waste storage

Ukrainian nuclear plant to be repaired 'soon': watchdog

Artificial plant device cleans radioactive soil using only sunlight

CYBER WARS
UK govt faces growing pressure over collapsed China spy case

US expert on India accused of China meetings denies charges

US advisor on India accused of taking documents, meeting Chinese

UK's Starmer publishes evidence in collapsed China spy case

CYBER WARS
Boron isotopes unlock secrets of nuclear waste glass corrosion

Poisson model solved opening path to stronger materials better groundwater management and safer nuclear waste storage

Ukrainian nuclear plant to be repaired 'soon': watchdog

Artificial plant device cleans radioactive soil using only sunlight

CYBER WARS
Danish wind giant Orsted to cut workforce by a quarter

French-German duo wins mega offshore wind energy project

Wind giant Orsted to resume US project after court win

Floating wind power sets sail in Japan's energy shift

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.