MI5 thwarted China attack in past week, chief reveals

The head of MI5 has revealed Britain thwarted an attack from China just this week, as he issued a stark warning over the daily threat to the UK posed by Beijing.

- ARCHIE MITCHELL MILLIE COOKE CAITLIN DOHERTY

In an extraordinary intervention amid the fallout from the collapsed China spying case, Sir Ken McCallum said the case was a “strong disruption in the interest of the UK’s national security”.

He admitted he was “frustrated” the case had been allowed to collapse before going to trial, and highlighted further attempts by China to carry out “cyber espionage” and “interfere covertly in UK public life”.

Sir Ken’s comments will pile pressure on the prime minister to adopt a tougher stance on China, with Labour having been accused of jeopardising British interests to chase closer economic ties with Beijing.

His comments came as housing secretary Steve Reed delayed a decision on whether to approve a new Chinese “super embassy” in London, in the latest potentially embarrassing development for the government. Critics have said the embassy, on a site near the Tower of London, would effectively serve as a spying hub for Beijing, fuelling further espionage attempts by China.

In his speech at MI5’s London headquarters, the intelligence agency’s director general Sir Ken said that the UK needed to “defend itself resolutely” against China while also being able to “seize the opportunities” that having a relationship with Beijing brings. “The UK-China relationship is, by its nature, complex, but MI5’s role is not: we detect and deal, robustly, with activity threatening national security.”

He highlighted attempts by China to carry out “cyber espionage”, “clandestine technology transfer”, efforts to “interfere covertly in UK public life”, and the “harassment and intimidation of opponents”, including pro-democracy activists. “When it comes to China, the UK needs to defend itself resolutely against threats and seize the opportunities that demonstrably serve our nation,” he said.