China has slammed the UK, saying it is "time to stop those phantom allegations and the false projection," after British intelligence agency MI5 issued a warning of "Chinese spying threats".
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a news conference on Wednesday that Beijing "never interferes in other countries’ internal affairs and has absolutely no interest in the so-called 'intelligence' of the UK Parliament," according to a transcript of the conference.
British Security Minister Dan Jarvis on Tuesday warned of "Chinese spying threats" that are interfering with British democracy after the country's intelligence agency MI5 issued an espionage alert to parliament.
He claimed that Beijing is trying to contact lawmakers and peers to get sensitive information about the parliament.
"It builds on a pattern of activity that we have seen from China with cyber-operations by China state-affiliated actors targeting parliamentary emails in 2021, attempted foreign interference activity by Christine Lee in 2022, and other more recent cases," he said.
Jarvis noted that the government will take all necessary measures to protect national interests, citizens, and the democratic way of life, including working with allies and partners.
However, the security minister stated that the government has not yet decided whether China will join Russia and Iran in the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) Enhanced Tier, which requires the registration of arrangements to carry out political influence activities in the UK on behalf of a foreign power.
