𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A new attempt has been launched to force Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Government to “pull its head out of the sand on the threat posed by China and other hostile states” and secure a rethink on allowing Beijing to open a “super embassy” on the site of London’s Royal Mint Exchange. Conservatives will seek to amend the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill so the Government will be required to “establish and maintain a register of hostile state actors” confirmed by the GCHQ spy agency. It would also force the Government review the “cyber security risk to UK critical sectors” at sites controlled by hostile states in this country.

Shadow science minister Ben Spencer warned that attacks by states including China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea happen every day.

He said: “The attacks have the potential to wreak disruption on communications networks and the digital infrastructure supporting the daily functioning of society. The risks are clear. The hostile attacks are happening. Action needs to be taken to protect the UK now.”

He said his amendments to the Bill would make the Government “pull its head out of the sand” and “draw up an official and binding list of countries that are a threat to our National Security”.

Mr Spencer said the Labour Government must “stop sitting on the fence when it comes to China” and “be clear on the treat it poses”.

He added: “China is not unique in deploying malicious cyber-attacks against us. What is unique, however, is this Government’s reluctance to name China as a specific security threat when it has been willing to call out other adversaries including Russia and Iran.”

Mr Spencer pushed for a tougher approach, saying: “Just days after reports surfaced in January this year that Chinese state-sponsored hackers compromised the mobile phones of senior Downing Street officials between 2021 and 2024, the Prime Minister flew to China to discuss closer trade ties.”

He added: “We Conservatives remain clear about the need for the Government to acknowledge the UK’s most serious security threats – and we will continue to stand up to China.”

A Government spokesperson said: “The cyber threats we face are rapidly changing, and we need the right tools to stay ahead of them. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen our cyber security and resilience, taking in more essential sectors of the economy, updating security requirements, and taking steps where necessary to quickly respond to significant threats. Taken together with our forthcoming National Cyber Action Plan and the free support the Government offers to organisations of all sizes on cyber security, we are taking the steps needed to protect the essential services people rely on every day, from the NHS to water and energy.”

Mr Spencer’s intervention comes as the cross-party foreign affairs committee has warned that “malign actors” are “seeking to undermine democracy” through the use of “disinformation”.

Dame Emily Thornberry, who chairs the committee, warned that “open liberal democracies are sitting ducks”. The report named China alongside Russian and Iran as a state which seeks to “sow distrust, undermine cohesion, and erode confidence in democratic institutions and norms”.

It warned of the work of China’s “Spamouflage” network which attempts to “covertly spread disinformation within human-interest-style content”. The report claimed China uses tactics including “economic coercion, transnational repression, and cyber-attacks to conduct foreign interference”.