Westminster must raise its security game to protect trust in our democracy

Editorial: This incident is hardly a wake-up call but it does suggest a new lesson must be learnt

The alleged spy was arrested in March, it was reported (AP)

The arrest of a parliamentary researcher on suspicion of spying for China is simultaneously shocking but not surprising. We have, for a very long time, known that China’s spying activities are widespread and prolific. If Chinese espionage is occurring via secret balloons in the near stratospheric air space above the United States of America, it is hardly surprising that they might also be operating in the Palace of Westminster.

At first glance, the operation might seem innocuous but it has the potential to be extremely serious. Given that the alleged spy is understood to have first worked in China and then returned to the UK and sought out a job in parliament, it is not unreasonable to deduce that the alleged recruitment of him - if it did take place - occurred before, not after, he was given security clearance to work in Westminster, and alongside powerful and influential MPs working directly on the relationship between China and the UK. (The deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden was specifically asked in the House of Commons when his recruitment occurred, and he declined to answer.)

The alleged spy worked for Alicia Kearns, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, and was involved in setting up the China Research Group with Tom Tugendhat who is now a security minister.

Ms Kearns is a backbencher and so is unlikely to have had access to much secret information, but the nature of the duplicity involved appears to be more sophisticated than that. By, in effect, posing as hostile to China, and thereby encouraging victims of Chinese oppression to get in touch with him via the China Research Group, alleged espionage activities in Westminster have potentially compromised the safety of vulnerable people who have, in short, placed their trust in this country and its elected politicians.

The China Research Group regularly held drinks parties and events in Westminster. Every kind of exiled dissident has been known to attend them – from Uyghur Muslims and Tibetan freedom activists to Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters. These are all noble causes, which are backed by all sides of the House of Commons. Through this acutely embarrassing incident, they have all been badly let down.

It is an extremely damaging allegation and may cause all kinds of other vulnerable people to think twice before seeking assistance from people they should be able to trust.

It may be difficult but, bluntly, Westminster must now act with more vigilance. Security clearance is already a painful process. Would-be parliamentary aides, and even Westminster journalists, who are of Irish descent all tell tales of having to wait months and months for their House of Commons passes to arrive. The alleged spy in this case worked in China as a teacher for a long time before returning to the UK. If that did not ring alarm bells at the time, it certainly should now.

Western authorities are not in the dark about the clandestine activities of the Chinese state. They have been aware of its scale and seriousness for many years. To that extent, this incident is hardly a wake-up call, but it does suggest a new lesson must be learnt. That if MPs place their trust in the wrong people, then the right people will quickly lose trust in them, and without trust, representative democracy is broken.