UK PM Rishi Sunak raises concern over interference in UK democracy with China’s Premier Li Qiang

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday (September 10) said that he had expressed concerns over Chinese interference in Britain’s parliamentary democracy, during his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in India’s national capital Delhi, after the reported arrest of two alleged spies.

One of the people who was arrested on suspicion of spying for China was a researcher in the British parliament, reported UK newspaper, The Sunday Times.

“With regard to my meeting with Premier Li (Chinese Premier Li Qiang), what I said very specifically is that I raised a range of different concerns that we have in areas of disagreement. In particular my very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is clearly unacceptable,” he stated while speaking to the media.

London’s Metropolitan Police released a statement saying that two men were arrested in the month of March under the Official Secrets Act and had been released on police bail until early October.

“The investigation is being carried out by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, which has responsibility for investigations relating to allegations of Official Secrets Act and espionage-related offences,” the statement said.

Sunak said he raised areas where there are disagreements, but the meeting showed the value of the strategy of engaging “where it makes sense”.

“We discussed a range of things in areas where there are disagreements. This is just part of our strategy to protect ourselves, protect our values and our interests, to align our approach to China with that of our allies, like that of America, Australia, Canada, Japan and others. But also to engage where it makes sense. And actually, I think the right thing to do is take the opportunity to engage, to raise concerns specifically, rather than just shouting from the sidelines,” he said.

As per news agency Reuters reports, a Chinese readout from the meeting welcomed Britain’s extended pragmatic cooperation with China, adding Li had said that “the two sides should properly handle their differences”. However, it did not mention anything about the spying accusation.

(With inputs from agencies)
 

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.