Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Sunday that he had raised "very strong concerns" with Chinese Premier Li Qiang about allegations of a spy within the U.K.'s Parliament.
During a press conference following the pair's meeting at the G20 conference in New Delhi, Sunak said that he warned Li "about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is obviously unacceptable." Sunak added that the pair "discussed a range of things and I raised areas where there are disagreements. This is just part of our strategy to protect ourselves, protect our values and our interests, to align our approach to China with that of our allies like America, Australia, Canada, Japan and others."
Sunak's comments came hours after a report in The Sunday Times revealed that a British parliamentary researcher was arrested earlier this year for allegedly spying on Parliament for China, along with another man who was arrested in connection. The prime suspect was "understood to be linked to a number of senior Tory [politicians], including several who are privy to classified or highly sensitive information," according to the Times. This reportedly included U.K. Security Minister Tom Tugendhat. The alleged spy represented "a major escalation by China. We have never seen anything like this before," one parliamentary source told the Times.
The meeting between Sunak and Li was not originally scheduled, but occurred early Sunday morning after news of the alleged spy's arrest broke, The Guardian reported. The allegations were reportedly the first topic that Sunak and Li discussed; Li said that the two countries had "differences in opinion." A report in Chinese media also said that Li told Sunak that the U.K. and China "should properly handle disagreements, respect each other's core interests and major concerns."
Chinese officials have not directly addressed the spying allegations.
