A former House of Commons researcher has this morning denied claims that he ever spied for China. The man in question said that he is ‘completely innocent’ and a victim of ‘misreporting’, saying in a statement released by his lawyers that ‘to do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for.’ The British national, who boasted links to top Tories including Tom Tugendhat and Alicia Kearns, added that ‘I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist party’.
Today’s Times is the only newspaper to name the man in question, with others holding off from publication for fear of jeopardising an ongoing police investigation. But amid talk of MPs potentially naming the man under parliamentary privilege, a statement is now expected by the Speaker on the subject at 2:30 p.m. Lindsay Hoyle’s eagerly-anticipated remarks will be followed by a security update by Oliver Dowden an hour later in his capacity as Minister for the Cabinet Office. The statements come amid calls to tighten the process by which parliamentary staff receive a security pass. Neil Coyle, a Labour member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has told the BBC that staff working for him and other MPs involved in sensitive subjects should receive extra vetting.
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