China stole Britain’s state secrets for years using a backdoor into sensitive Whitehall computer systems, it emerged on Wednesday night.
The Daily Mail understands that in a catastrophic blunder, the Chinese were allowed to buy a company that controlled a data hub used by government departments to exchange information, including on highly classified projects.
Former No 10 aide Dominic Cummings said on Wednesday that the communist superpower stole ‘vast amounts’ of material, including some with the highest security classification.
Boris Johnson‘s former chief adviser said the disastrous episode had been ‘buried’ as part of a pattern of Whitehall behaviour in which the ‘British state… has prioritised Chinese money over its own security for decades’.
The revelation came as Sir Keir Starmer continued to battle claims that the Government played a role in the collapse of a case against two men, one a parliamentary researcher, accused of spying for Beijing.
It piles pressure on the Prime Minister to curb Labour‘s rush to embrace China as it tries to boost its flagging record on the economy.
Spying charges against former parliamentary researcher Chris Cash and his friend Christopher Berry were dropped last month, triggering a furious political row.
Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, has laid the blame at the Government’s door after deputy national security adviser Matt Collins refused to state that China was an enemy of Britain, scuppering hopes of a conviction under the Official Secrets Act.
Then Prime Minister David Cameron with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a State visit to the UK in October 2015
During angry clashes in the Commons, the Prime Minister denied the government had played a role in collapsing the Chinese spy case
On Wednesday night the Government published witness statements from Mr Collins made as part of the spy case.
He said Chinese intelligence services were ‘highly capable and conduct large-scale espionage operations’ against the UK, but added the Government was ‘committed to pursuing a positive relationship’ with Beijing.
Mr Cummings recounted an episode in which the then-Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill revealed that China had been able to access top-secret material for years.
‘I watched (Boris Johnson) and (Rishi) Sunak both mouth “what the f***?” and stare around in open-mouthed amazement in 2020 when the Cabinet Secretary explained a truly amazing penetration of critical infrastructure,’ he said.
He said the incident was ‘classified to the max’ and that no-one was ever fired as a result.
Whitehall sources denied on Wednesday night that the network handling the most sensitive government information had been ‘hacked’ by Beijing.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: ‘It is untrue to claim that the systems we use to transfer the most sensitive government information have been compromised.’
However, sources did not dispute a claim, first reported on Wednesday by the Spectator magazine, that China had bought a firm controlling a data hub used by the Whitehall network – although they insisted all material remained encrypted.
On Wednesday night the Government published witness statements from Mr Collins made as part of the spy case
Theresa May and the Chinese President during a meeting in Beijing in February 2018
The National Security and Investment Act 2021 was brought in the following year to prevent any repeat. The law gave the Government the power to scrutinise and intervene in business transactions to protect national security.
In an interview with The Times, Mr Cummings said the files accessed by China included so-called ‘Strap’ material, the highest level of classification.
‘Some Strap stuff was compromised and vast amounts of data classified as extremely secret and extremely dangerous for any foreign entity to control was compromised,’ he said.
‘Material from intelligence services. Material from the National Security Secretariat in the Cabinet Office. Things the Government has to keep secret. If they’re not secret, then there are very, very serious implications.’
Mr Cummings said the disastrous episode had been deliberately covered up by officials.
Former security minister Tom Tugendhat confirmed Mr Cummings’ version of events, telling LBC Radio: ‘Yes… I don’t want to go into the details, but the gist of what Dominic Cummings has put out is correct.’
Former Tory Cabinet minister Sir Ben Wallace denied the previous government had ‘covered up’ Chinese spying to avoid embarrassment.
Sir Ben pointed out that the last government had banned Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from Britain’s 5G network on security grounds.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions
Mr Cummings said the disastrous episode had been deliberately covered up by officials
He added: ‘There is a reason that governments do not talk about successful and unsuccessful attempts by our enemies to access our secrets. It’s not a conspiracy or a cover-up – it’s because ambiguity is very important in maintaining our security.’
Mr Cummings said No 10 was made aware of the breaches in 2020 but it was unclear when the Beijing purchase was made, putting it potentially under the premierships of Theresa May or David Cameron, who heralded a ‘golden era’ of UK-China relations.
Tory MP Alicia Kearns, who was one of the alleged targets in the collapsed spy case, urged the PM on Wednesday night to halt efforts to deepen trade ties – and veto plans for a controversial Chinese mega-embassy in London which are due to be decided next week.
‘It is inconceivable in light of this evidence that the Government would continue headlong into deeper relations with the Chinese Communist Party. They must not hand China a mega spy base in the heart of London.’
Ms Kearns said Foreign Office chief Sir Ollie Robbins should be recalled immediately from a trip to China, where he is paving the way for a trade mission by Sir Keir in the new year.
She added: ‘Starmer must stop putting national security second to his desperation for China to fix his and his Chancellor’s economic mismanagement.’
Parliament’s joint committee on the national security strategy also urged housing secretary Steve Reed on Wednesday night to block China’s application to build the new embassy in the heart of the City.
In an unusual intervention, the cross-party committee said the application was ‘not in the UK’s national interest’.
Former security minister Tom Tugendhat publicly confirmed Mr Cummings’s version of events, telling LBC Radio: ‘Yes… I don’t want to go into the details, but the gist of what Dominic Cummings has put out is correct’
Former Tory Cabinet minister Sir Ben Wallace declined to comment on the specific claim made by Mr Cummings but denied the previous government had ‘covered up’ Chinese spying to avoid embarrassment
Matt Western, the committee’s Labour chairman, said the proposed location presented ‘eavesdropping risks in peacetime and sabotage risks in a crisis’ due to its proximity to fibre-optic cables, data centres and telecoms exchanges serving Canary Wharf and the City.
During angry clashes in the Commons on Wednesday, the Prime Minister denied the Government had played a role in collapsing the Chinese spy case.
Sir Keir told MPs that he was ‘deeply disappointed’ by the collapse of the case.
Downing Street later revealed that the Prime Minister was informed ‘a couple of days’ in advance that the Chinese spy case was at risk of collapse, but did nothing to intervene.