Rutland MP to remain silent on Chinese spy links
Alicia Kearns says she doesn't want to jeopardise the investigation
Rutland MP, Alicia Kearns, will remain silent on suggestions that a parliamentary aide employed by her is a Chinese spy, until UK authorities finish looking into the matter.
Through her X (Twitter) account, Mrs Kearns said: “I am aware of the Sunday Times report. I will not be commenting. While I recognise the public interest, we all have a duty to ensure any work of the authorities is not jeopardised.”
The Sunday Times reported (10/9) that Chris Cash, 28, arrested on suspicion of spying for China, was the director of an influential policy group on Beijing co-founded by the security minister, Tom Tugendhat MP (Con).
Mr Cash, who was detained by the Metropolitan Police on March 13, was also employed as a researcher by Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee.
Mr Cash was the research lead at the China Research Group, an organisation set up in April 2020 by a group of Conservative MPs aiming to promote debate and fresh thinking about how Britain should respond to the rise of China. As such, Mr Cash would have held a parliamentary pass, but did not have full security clearance.
Parliamentary passes are required by everyone working on the parliamentary estate, who require access to the parliamentary network, or being given access to sensitive parliamentary information. However, they are supposed to be returned upon the completion of any work being done.
Mr Cash was in possession of his parliament pass as late as April 28, but it is not immediately clear how much access he might have had to foreign affairs intelligence, or what kind of influence, if any, he might have held in Westminster.
He previously worked for the British Council in Hangzhou, China, teaching English, and holds an MSc in China and Globalisation Studies from the Lau China Institute at King’s College London and an MA in Modern History from the University of St Andrew’s.
Security official now believe that he was recruited as a ‘sleeper agent’ while living and working in China.
Mrs Kearns has added that this is an ongoing enquiry by the security authorities, and it would be inappropriate to comment on the matter until that investigation is concluded. But she did say that she has been a ‘thorn in the side’ of the Chinese government recently, raising issues such as the possible use of forced labour of minority groups such as the Uyghur, and that this was a ‘bad day’ for the Chinese ‘because this time they got caught out’.
Last week, prime minister, Rishi Sunak (Con), in a showdown at the G20, told Chinese premier, Li Qiang, he has: “…significant concerns about Chinese interference in the UK’s parliamentary democracy.”