{"id":26079,"date":"2023-09-11T12:19:56","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T12:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harvestmoonnews.com\/?p=26079"},"modified":"2023-09-11T12:19:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T12:19:56","slug":"ex-westminster-insider-says-he-is-completely-innocent-over-china-spy-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harvestmoonnews.com\/politics\/ex-westminster-insider-says-he-is-completely-innocent-over-china-spy-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Westminster insider says he is completely innocent over China spy claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

A British parliamentary researcher described as “seemingly normal”, “attractive” and “clearly into sports” has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China.<\/p>\n

The suspect has vehemently denied the allegations and claims he is “completely innocent” and that spying would be “against everything I stand for”.<\/p>\n

The well-connected suspect\u00a0was closely linked with Tom Tugendhat and was an active member of Westminster\u2019s social scene, organising bi-monthly drinks for civil servants, political aides and journalists.<\/p>\n

Spooks are now investigating whether he passed sensitive material to Beijing.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong> China’s Westminster spy network ‘about to be exposed’ after Sunak’s showdown<\/strong><\/p>\n

The suspect is reported to be the son of a GP who grew up in a wealthy Edinburgh suburb and went to a local private school.<\/p>\n

He then went on to study history at the University of St Andrews before teaching English literature to an international school in China.<\/p>\n

When he came back, he went on to study China and globalisation at King’s College London before kick-starting his parliamentary career in 2021. He was hired as a researcher for the China Policy Group, a group co-founded by Tom Tugendhat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More recently, he was hired as a researcher by Alicia Kearns, chairwoman of the foreign affairs committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In a statement released by his lawyers, Birnberg Peirce, he said: “I feel forced to respond to the media accusations that I am a \u2018Chinese spy\u2019. It is wrong that I should be obliged to make any form of public comment on the misreporting that has taken place.<\/p>\n

“However, given what has been reported, it is vital that it is known that I am completely innocent. I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party.<\/p>\n

“To do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for.”<\/p>\n

Noa Hoffman, political journalist at The Sun, said she was “impressed by his sweet profile” on the dating app Hinge.<\/p>\n

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“Swiping through dating apps, you quickly learn how many weird men are out there and, importantly, how to avoid them,” she wrote in The Sun.<\/p>\n

“What no one prepares you for are the warning signs you could be flirting with a spy for the Chinese. I matched with Mr. X on Hinge after being impressed by his sweet profile.<\/p>\n

“He was attractive, clearly into sports and had a thriving social life.”<\/p>\n

Ms Hoffman and the suspect arranged “swanky drinks” at a Covent Garden venue multiple times. But the date never took place as “something always came up” and she “eventually lost interest”.<\/p>\n

The former researcher was arrested back in March for an alleged security breach although the details have only just become known.<\/p>\n

The suspect, who was a parliamentary pass holder, didn\u2019t have any security clearance but according to a source, any information shared would not need to be highly classified to be valuable to China.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s about networks and about influence,” the security source told The Times.<\/p>\n

The initial approach from China was likely to be from someone he met abroad or during his parliamentary work, it has been reported.<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A British parliamentary researcher described as “seemingly normal”, “attractive” and “clearly into sports” has been<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nEx-Westminster insider says he is completely innocent over China spy claims - harvestmoonnews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/harvestmoonnews.com\/politics\/ex-westminster-insider-says-he-is-completely-innocent-over-china-spy-claims\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-Westminster insider says he is completely innocent over China spy claims - harvestmoonnews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A British parliamentary researcher described as “seemingly normal”, “attractive” and “clearly into sports” has been\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/harvestmoonnews.com\/politics\/ex-westminster-insider-says-he-is-completely-innocent-over-china-spy-claims\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"harvestmoonnews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-11T12:19:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/Suspect-4953570.jpg?r=1694430860217\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harvestmoonnews.com\/politics\/ex-westminster-insider-says-he-is-completely-innocent-over-china-spy-claims\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/harvestmoonnews.com\/politics\/ex-westminster-insider-says-he-is-completely-innocent-over-china-spy-claims\/\",\"name\":\"Ex-Westminster insider says he is completely innocent over China spy claims - 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