The prime minister met the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Delhi in an unplanned meeting hours after the Sunday Times revealed that two men were arrested amid allegations that a parliamentary researcher spied for Beijing.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The prime minister met Li on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Delhi in an unplanned meeting hours after the Sunday Times revealed the researcher, who is understood to have had links to senior Conservative MPs, had been arrested along with another man.
Downing Street said after the meeting: “The prime minister met premier Li Qiang and conveyed his significant concerns about Chinese interference in the UK’s parliamentary democracy.”
According to Chinese media, Li told Sunak the two countries “should properly handle disagreements, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns”.
He said earlier this year: “I don’t think it’s kind of smart or sophisticated foreign policy to reduce our relationship with China – which after all is a country with one and a half billion people, the second biggest economy, and member of the UN security council.”
The man, who is a UK citizen, reportedly had links to Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs select committee, and Tom Tugendhat, the security minister.
Kearns declined to comment, adding: “While I recognise the public interest, we all have a duty to ensure any work of the authorities is not jeopardised.”
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