Gillian Keegan refuses to say if China poses national security threat

A day after two individuals and a company with links to the Chinese government were sanctioned for attacks on the Electoral Commission between 2021 and 2022, Education Minister Gillian Keegan refused to say whether China posed a national security threaten.

Oliver Dowden told the House of Commons on Monday that the company also conducted “reconnaissance” on British parliamentary accounts in another campaign in 2021.

British intelligence services believe Chinese spies may use information stolen by hacking election watchdogs to target dissidents and critics of Xi Jinping’s government in the UK.

“I don’t want you to put words in my mouth… I’m not an expert on diplomacy,” Ms Keegan told Nick Ferrari on LBC.