British security services have arrested a parliamentary aide on suspicion of spying for Beijing. The aide, named by the Times as Chris Cash, rejected the accusation today. “I am completely innocent,” he said in a statement released today by his lawyers. “I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party.” Cash is reportedly a GP’s son who attended a private school in Scotland, studied history at the University of St Andrews and later taught with the British Council at an international school in Hangzhou, near Shanghai for two years. The 28 year-old was entrenched in the Westminster foreign policy scene and has been described as a “very serious operator” and a “skilled networker”. He worked for Alicia Kearns, chairwoman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, as a researcher and was closely linked to security minister Tom Tugendhat. In one article published last year in CityAm, Cash argues against parallels between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The security services arrested him in March, but details emerged only at the weekend in the Sunday Times. Tory MPs, who fear China has targeted them for speaking up against human rights abuses, say they’re furious at being left in the dark about the incident. A word of caution: it’s not clear yet what material if any Cash is accused of passing to China; the Times reports today it’s “not necessarily classified or top secret”. This one will run and run.
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