UK police charge 2 with spying for China
April 22, 2024
Britain's Crown Prosecution Service on Monday said two men had been charged with breaking the UK's Official Secrets Act on behalf of China.
The pair allegedly passed on information "for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state."
What we know so far
"[Christopher B., 32, and Christopher C., 29], will be charged with providing prejudicial information to a foreign state, China," the service said. The pair are set to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Friday.
"This has been an extremely complex investigation into what are very serious allegations," said Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Counter Terrorism Command at the Metropolitan Police.
Britain has become increasingly wary about alleged Chinese spying activity, particularly since a parliamentary researcher was arrested last year on suspicion of spying for China. At the time, the government said Chinese intelligence was targeting British officials in sensitive positions in politics, defense, and business.
The two men allegedly "obtained, collected, recorded, published, or communicated to any other person articles, notes, documents or information, which were calculated to be, might be, or were intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy."
Two men arrested last year
London's Metropolitan Police said officers had previously detained two men in March last year in connection with the investigation. The older of the pair was arrested in the southern English county of Oxfordshire with the other apprehended in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. Both men were subsequently released on police bail while the investigation continued.
The UK Attorney General consented to the pair being charged at the start of the month. The arrests come as investigators in Germany on Monday arrested three German nationals suspected of spying for China by providing access to secret maritime technology.
Editor's note: DW follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and obliges us to refrain from revealing full names in such cases.
rc/wmr (AFP, AP)