It has been reported that China has conducted a series of cyber-attacks targeting a group of MPs and peers at Westminster.
On Monday, Parliament is expected to be informed of the attacks by the Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former education minister for the Conservative Party, along with Tim Loughton, a member of parliament from the same party, Lord Alton of Liverpool, a cross-bench peer, and Stewart McDonald, a Scottish National Party MP, have been invited to attend a meeting with Alison Giles, the director of security for parliament.
Duncan Smith, Loughton, Alton and McDonald are members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), which monitors and scrutinises Beijing.
The Sunday Times reported that David Cameron, the foreign secretary, will convene a gathering of the 1922 Committee where the discussion will likely revolve around China and security.
The upcoming China update is thought to be connected to the efforts of the Defending Democracy taskforce, a government committee responsible for monitoring and detecting attempts to disrupt and influence elections and the democratic process in the UK.
During a meeting on Friday, Luke de Pulford, the executive director of Ipac, mentioned that approximately one year ago, the Belgian and French foreign ministries publicly acknowledged cyber-attacks against members funded by the Chinese government.
“Similar actions have also been taken by other countries in private. Beijing has openly expressed their intention to target foreign leaders who challenge them.”
Last year, a parliamentary researcher was arrested over allegations of spying.
Chris Cash, who denies the accusation, was employed at China Research Group. The group was created by Tom Tugendhat, the security minister. Cash also worked as a researcher for Tory MP Alicia Kearns, who leads the foreign affairs select committee.
During the previous summer, a study released by the ISC stated that China was actively and aggressively seeking to infiltrate the UK and had accomplished this in all industries of the country’s economy.
Source: theguardian.com
