London [UK], May 1: The Guardian newspaper reported that Mr. Christopher Cash (29 years old) and Mr. Christopher Berry (32 years old) appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court (UK) on April 26. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has charged two people with violating the Official Secrets Act by providing sensitive information to Beijing. Mr. Cash previously said he was "completely innocent".
Details of how Mr. Cash spied for China have not been disclosed by British officials. But questions about his ability to collect intelligence come from his connections with British Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and Chairman of the British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Alicia Kearns, according to news site Firstpost. Mr. Tugendhat is the founder and first president of the China Research Group (CRG). This group was introduced as "established by British Conservative MPs to promote new thinking about how Britain should respond to the rise of China". The position of CRG president was then succeeded by Ms. Kearns.
Ms. Kearns, in her position in the House of Commons, hired Mr. Cash as a researcher in the British Parliament. Through this position, he gained access to many members of the parliamentary world. Mr. Tugendhat said he had contact with Mr. Cash before becoming head of the Security agency in September 2023.
Although Mr. Cash and Mr. Berry did not have security clearances - a government certification that ensures individuals with access to sensitive information will not pose a national security threat - they both possessed clearances. Parliament, allowing the two men to travel to all buildings of the legislature.
Mr. Cash is accused of "collecting, recording, publishing or communicating" material between January 2022 and February 2023, which could benefit Beijing, while Mr. Berry committed the same crime in December 2021 - 2.2023.
Similarities in Europe
The cases of Mr. Cash and Berry, or the recent information about European countries accusing individuals of spying for China, all have similarities, focusing on people connected to political figures. right-wing, to influence policy or gather important intelligence.
On April 23, AFP quoted German prosecutors as saying they had arrested Mr. Jian Guo, accusing him of passing information about European Parliament discussions to Chinese intelligence . Mr. Guo is an assistant to Mr. Maximilian Krah, a leading candidate of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the parliamentary election in June. Previously, in December 2023, Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Croo sees China as "sometimes very hostile". This statement comes after accusations that Frank Creyelman, a member of the far-right Vlaams Belang party, was recruited by Chinese intelligence to influence European discourse on sensitive topics in China. Quoc.
An investigation by the Financial Times newspaper revealed that a Chinese official persuaded Mr. Creyelman to lobby two right-wing members of the European Parliament to publicly condemn the US and UK for sabotaging Europe's energy security.
There is currently no clear explanation for the involvement of right-wing members in the accusations of Chinese espionage, but this coincidence forces European governments to pay attention to security concerns and foreign spy networks. outside. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said reports of Chinese espionage activities in Europe were "baseless", "exaggerated" and deliberately discredited Beijing .
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper