World News | Lawyer Accused of Being Chinese Spy Loses Legal Case Against UK Intelligence Agency
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. A lawyer accused of trying to interfere in British politics on behalf of the Chinese government has lost a legal challenge against the UK's domestic intelligence agency MI5.
London, Dec 17 (AP) A lawyer accused of trying to interfere in British politics on behalf of the Chinese government has lost a legal challenge against the UK's domestic intelligence agency MI5.
Britain's Security Service issued a security alert to all lawmakers in January 2022 warning that London-based lawyer Christine Lee was knowingly engaged in “political interference activities in the UK” in coordination with the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department, an organisation known to exert Chinese influence abroad.
The House of Commons' Speaker warned at the time that Lee had “facilitated” covert donations to British political parties and legislators “on behalf of foreign nationals." Members of Parliament are required to declare the source of donations they receive, which must be from UK-registered electors or entities.
Lee's firm, Christine Lee & Co, provided legal services mainly to the British Chinese community and had acted as a legal advisor to the Chinese embassy in London. Her son, Daniel Wilkes, worked for lawmaker Barry Gardiner as a diary manager for five years, while she had donated some 5,00,000 pounds (USD 6,35,000) to Gardiner, mostly for office costs, according to official records.
Lee, who was not accused of a criminal offense, brought a legal action, arguing that the security alert against her was political and that it breached her human rights.
On Tuesday, three judges at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal unanimously dismissed her claim, saying MI5 had issued the warning for “legitimate reasons.”
The tribunal decision came a day after British authorities named Chinese national Yang Tengbo as an alleged spy who cultivated close ties with Prince Andrew and sought to exert influence among British establishment figures on behalf of China's United Front Work Department.
Yang, 50, also known as Chris Yang, was banned from entering the UK last year after MI5 found that he was believed to have carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for China.
Authorities said his relationship with the royal had a covert nature, citing correspondence that referenced getting people “unnoticed in and out of the house of Windsor.”
Yang strongly denied the claims.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Tuesday called the spying allegations against Yang “ridiculous," while the Chinese Embassy in Britain condemned UK lawmakers for “smearing” China.
“We urge the UK side to immediately stop creating trouble, stop anti-China political manipulations, and stop undermining normal personnel exchanges between China and the UK," a statement released on the embassy's website said. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)