The British government was accused by one of its country’s parliamentary committees of adopting a “completely inadequate response” to China’s “increasingly sophisticated spying activities”, which allegedly target Britain and its interests.
A report issued in July by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), whose membership is drawn from both Houses of the British Parliament, concluded that Britain had “no strategy on China, let alone an effective one” and that it was “singularly failing to deploy a ‘whole-of-government’ approach” to the problem of China “prolifically and aggressively” seeking to interfere in British domestic and security policies. Committee chairman Julian Lewis said the report amounted to a “damning appraisal” of his government’s approach.
The ISC inquiry was commissioned in 2019 to look into the alleged threat posed by China at a time when the British government’s decision to include China General Nuclear, a Chinese state-owned company, as a partner in the construction of a new nuclear power plant the first such move by any Western country – generated massive controversy. It was also a period when Britain still resisted pressure from the United States to restrict the commercial activities of Huawei, the Chinese communications giant.