Oliver Dowden told the House of Commons on Monday 25 March that two individuals and a company with links to the Chinese government had been sanctioned over attacks on the Electoral Commission between 2021 and 2022.

The deputy prime minister added that the company also conducted “reconnaissance” activity on British parliamentary accounts in another operation 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.