The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has expelled three Chinese spies working in the UK while posing as journalists over the past year, the Daily Telegraph newspaper has reported.
The three were understood to be intelligence officers for Beijing’s Ministry of State Security, the paper said on Thursday, citing an unnamed senior government source.
“Their true identities were uncovered by MI5 and they have since been forced to return to China,” it said, referring to Britain’s domestic intelligence agency.
All three had claimed “to work for three different Chinese media agencies,” the source said, adding they had all arrived in the country over the past 12 months.
The news comes as UK-China relations continue to intensify as the UK criticises Beijing over its crackdowns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
British regulators revoked the licence of Chinese news network CGTN after finding its state-backed ownership structure broke UK law.
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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