China has angrily accused British intelligence operatives of recruiting a Chinese husband and wife and using them as spies,
It comes as the UK clashed with Beijing over a clampdown on free speech and open elections in Hong Kong, a former British territory that was guaranteed its own economic and political freedoms for 50 years after its handover to Chinese rule in 1997.
The two countries have locked horns in recent years over a number of other issues, including Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s apparent close bond with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and the nation’s neutral stance on the illegal invasion of Ukraine.
In a message on social media today, the Ministry of State Security, China’s main intelligence service, said it uncovered a major espionage case involving a couple identified only by their surnames, Wang and Zhou, who were allegedly recruited by MI6.
It said Wang had gone to Britain as a student in 2015 and was later joined by his wife. The Chinese claim Wang was given hotel rooms, trips around the country and financial incentives.
The couple were said to have worked for the Chinese government in a “central state agency” and handled government secrets, which they passed to MI6.
No information was given about what specific information the couple may have provided. The ministry said the case was still under investigation and gave no word on the location of the couple.
In May the Chinese ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office following allegations of “foreign interference on UK soil”.
Lord David Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, ordered the summoning of Ambassador Zheng Zeguang after three men were charged under the National Security Act for allegedly assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said the department had been “unequivocal in setting out that the recent pattern of behaviour directed by China against the UK including cyber attacks, reports of espionage links and the issuing of bounties is not acceptable”.
On Sunday dozens of protesters gathered outside Parliament to mark the 35th anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy demonstrations around Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989.
During the student demonstrations at least several hundred people were killed according to early Chinese government figures, however, other sources place the death toll as in several thousands.