China claims to have detained foreign consultant spying for Britain’s MI6

China, on Monday (Jan 8) said that its security agencies have detained a foreign national who was the head of a foreign consulting firm for allegedly spying for the British Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6.

What do we know about the allegations?

The claim was made by the Chinese spy agency Ministry of State Security’s (MSS) WeChat account which accused the MI6 of forming an “intelligence cooperation relationship” with a foreign national with the surname Huang.

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However, the Chinese officials did not mention the detained individual’s full name, or nationality or identify the company that they were working at.

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According to the MSS, Huang was in charge of an overseas consulting agency, and in 2015 the individual was contacted by the MI6 and began working with them on intelligence matters.

The MI6 directed Huang to enter China several times and instructed them to use public identity as a cover to collect China-related intelligence, including identifying potential assets for the British agency, the MSS said.

Huang allegedly passed 17 pieces of intelligence, including confidential state secrets, to MI6 before he was identified, according to the Chinese spy agency. It also claimed that Huang was trained by the MI6 and given professional spying equipment for intelligence cross-linking.

“After careful investigation, the state security organs promptly discovered evidence of Huang’s involvement in espionage activities, and took criminal coercive measures against him,” said the MSS.

The Chinese government did not disclose Huang’s current condition or whereabouts.

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The recent allegations by the MSS came amid an ongoing row between the United Kingdom and China in the past couple of months over allegations of perceived espionage and its impact on national security.

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The British government has previously said that Chinese spies are targeting its officials in sensitive positions in politics, defence and business in a bid to gain access to its secrets.

Last year, a researcher at the British parliament denied that he was a Chinese spy after being arrested under the Official Secrets Act, saying that had only ever tried to educate others about China.

Meanwhile, Beijing has repeatedly condemned the assertions and a foreign ministry spokesperson has dismissed them as “entirely groundless.”

“We urge the UK to stop spreading disinformation and stop political manipulation and malicious slander against China,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning when queried at a press briefing.

(With inputs from agencies)