Today, MPs will be briefed on the cyber threats posed by China, while a small group will be informed of specific threats against them.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden is applying to the Speaker’s Office to make a statement to Parliament China Sky News learned on Monday.
Meanwhile, three MPs and a peer will be informed of recent cyber attacks against them.
Political live broadcast:
PM says Russia creates ‘propaganda smokescreen’
Watch live every Sunday at 8:30am on Sky channel 501, Freeview 233, Virgin 602, the Sky News website and app or YouTube.
Click here to learn more
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron will also brief the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs on Monday evening, where the topic is likely to come up.
Despite pressure from some factions within his party, Rishi Sunak refuses to see China as a threat.
A Downing Street source told Sky News: “The Prime Minister has always had a tough stance on China; we said [their behaviour] go out.
“We can’t cut off all ties with China – that’s not a wise move, especially on issues like climate change – we need to understand what they are saying, what they are trying to do, working with partners and our Five Eyes ally.
“But there’s no doubt we’re taking an ‘eyes wide open’ approach.”
This year, as the UK, US, India and many other countries hold elections, China’s behavior will be of particular concern.
Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, told Sky News: “I think politicians have to be attentive and vigilant at all times.
“The reality is that even in peacetime, hostile nations will try to undermine our democracy, if you want to call it that.
“This year will see most elections taking place around the world, with the largest turnout ever. I’m very concerned about what might happen, not just in the UK, but around the world, and the ways in which some hostile countries might try to try to influence the outcome. “
read more:
Parliamentary staff denies spying
China is ‘the biggest game-changing challenge’
Sunak declares end of ‘golden era’ with China
Conservative MP Alicia Kearns
Speaking about the threats to MPs, Ms Kearns added: “I’ve had my emails hacked from China.
“The threats are real and they are trying to undermine our democracy.
“If we don’t have a public strategy that can bring the country together, there will be gaps in our resilience that will make us vulnerable.”
Ms Kearns’s warning came after the Sunday Times reported that Alison Giles, the parliament’s security director, would be meeting former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Former Conservative education minister Tim Loughton, Liverpool crossbench MP Lord Alton and Scottish National Party MP Stewart McDonald briefed the situation.
They are both critics of the Chinese government and members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a coalition of parliamentarians from around the world that investigates Beijing’s activities.
Luke de Pulford, founder and executive director of IPAC, told Sky News the government’s announcement was made under pressure from the intelligence and security services.
“Ministers are finally able to say what they have wanted to say for years – that this is actually a real problem we have,” he said.
“This is a very serious security threat,” he added.
Britain’s attitude toward China appears to be hardening.
Last year, a parliamentary staff member Arrested on suspicion of espionage for the stateIn 2022, the head of MI5 and his FBI counterpart warned that China was a “game-changing challenge”.
This is a far cry from the “golden era” announced by then Prime Minister Lord Cameron and Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping in 2015.
There are also concerns about the way Chinese tech companies like ByteDance are growing. Tik Tok or Huawei,Data processing.
Follow Sky News for all the latest news from the UK and around the world
👉 Listen above, and click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts 👈
Ms Kearns added: “I should be clear, this is the Chinese Communist Party, this is not the Chinese people and this is not in their interests.
“The Chinese Communist Party seeks to achieve its goals and objectives at our expense, and the reality is that they will continue to try to make us vulnerable by making us dependent on them domestically, whether for data or technology.
“They will continue to try to exploit technology like TikTok to extract data, and they will continue to try to undermine us by buying off allies around the world and rewriting the multilateral system.”
CNN has contacted the Chinese Embassy for comment.
Follow us on Google news ,Twitter , and Join Whatsapp Group of thelocalreport.in
