Will the parliamentary researcher arrested on suspicion of spying for China face ANY charges?
- Police are liaising with Crown Prosecution Service, but haven’t sent evidence yet
Police investigating a parliamentary researcher accused of spying for China have yet to send a file of evidence to prosecutors – despite spending six months on the case.
Scotland Yard officers are liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service for investigative advice, but they have not sent a file of evidence for the CPS to consider.
The revelation will raise questions about whether the researcher and a second man arrested in March on suspicion of breaching the Official Secrets Act will face any charges.
The pair, who deny the accusations, remain on bail until next month.
It emerged yesterday that the researcher was able to access the Palace of Westminster for up to 18 months without any security vetting.
Police investigating a parliamentary researcher (pictured) accused of spying for China have yet to send a file of evidence to prosecutors – despite spending six months on the case
The man, in his 20s, was free to move around the parliamentary estate on daily visitor passes because of his links to security minister Tom Tugendhat and Alicia Kearns, another senior Tory MP.
READ MORE: Chinese teachers in British classrooms are to be replaced by recruits from Taiwan after Commons spy scandal
Mr Tugendhat stayed in contact with the suspect after being appointed a Government minister last autumn and used his personal phone to exchange WhatsApp messages with him just weeks before his arrest.
The developments have raised concerns about the lack of background checks on those entering Parliament as visitors.
Although visitors have to go through airport-style checks before entering Westminster, they do not have to undergo any background security vetting and there is no register held of their names.
The parliamentary researcher, who the Mail is not naming, has issued a statement through his lawyers protesting his innocence and insisting that he has spent his career trying to ‘educate others’ about the ‘threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party’.
MI5 chief Ken McCallum revealed last year that the number of investigations being run by the domestic intelligence agency has increased seven-fold in just four years.
The man, in his 20s, was free to move around the parliamentary estate on daily visitor passes because of his links to security minister Tom Tugendhat and Alicia Kearns (pictured), another senior Tory MP
Mr Tugendhat (pictured above) stayed in contact with the suspect after being appointed a Government minister last autumn and used his personal phone to exchange WhatsApp messages with him just weeks before his arrest
But no one has been charged with any criminal offences in relation to espionage or interference on behalf of the Chinese state.
In comparison, at least 146 individuals have been indicted in America where the laws are different, analysis suggests.
US authorities have pursued cases for offences such as democratic interference, theft of technology, espionage and harassment of dissidents.
Former Tory party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the joint chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘The UK security services have had very poor legislation for pursuing spies.
‘The (Official Secrets) Act has not been fit for purpose for a long time.’
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