UK leader Sunak chides China after a report that a UK Parliament staffer is a suspected Beijing spy

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has chastised China’s premier for what he called unacceptable interference in British democracy after a newspaper reported that a researcher in Parliament was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of spying for Beijing. Sunak said he raised the issue with Premier Li Qiang when the two met Sunday at a Group of 20 summit in India. He said he’d expressed very strong concerns. London’s Metropolitan Police force confirmed that a man in his 20s and a man in his 30s were arrested in March under the Official Secrets Act. Neither has been charged. The Sunday Times reported that the younger man was a parliamentary researcher who worked with senior lawmakers from the governing Conservatives.