Headlines
UK police arrest three in relation to national security offences linked to China
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 4, 2026
3 min readLast updated: March 4, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 4, 2026
3 min readLast updated: March 4, 2026
British counter‑terrorism police arrested three individuals in London on March 4, 2026, under the National Security Act in an investigation linked to China. This development comes amid intensified scrutiny of espionage and foreign interference involving China and other hostile states.
LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - British police said on Wednesday they had arrested three men on suspicion of assisting China's foreign intelligence service in the latest accusation of spying against Beijing by the UK authorities.
The arrests come after Britain's MI5 security service gave another warning to lawmakers in November about attempts by Chinese agents to collect information and influence activity at Westminster.
Police said counter-terrorism officers had arrested a 39-year-old man in London as well as a 68-year-old man and a 43-year-old man in Wales. All are being held in custody.
The Guardian newspaper said those arrested had close links to Britain's parliament, reporting that one of them is the partner of a current lawmaker in Britain's ruling Labour Party, while another is the partner of a former Labour lawmaker.
Asked about the report in parliament, security minister Dan Jarvis declined to give any further details, citing the ongoing police investigation. There was no immediate comment from the Labour Party.
PLAN TO STEP UP FOREIGN INTERFERENCE PROTECTIONS
In recent years, relations between Britain and China have been strained over spying accusations. The Chinese embassy in London did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment following the arrests.
They were made under the National Security Act passed in 2023, which is intended to allow prosecutors to put spying suspects on trial in a wider set of circumstances, and Jarvis said in a statement after the arrests that the government was working on new powers to counter foreign interference.
"We will always challenge any country, including China, that attempts to interfere with or undermine the integrity of our democratic institutions," Jarvis said. "We will always prioritise UK national security."
His comments come six weeks after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited China and held talks with President Xi Jinping as part of an effort to improve bilateral relations.
Britain in January approved China's plans to build Beijing's largest embassy in Europe in London, leading critics to accuse Starmer of prioritising economic prospects over security risks.
Police said they had carried out searches at the properties where the three men were arrested as well as other addresses in London, Wales and Scotland. Officers added that while the matter was serious they did not believe there was any imminent threat to the public.
Separately on Wednesday, two men went on trial in London accused by British prosecutors of carrying out hostile surveillance on well-known pro-democracy dissidents for Hong Kong and, ultimately, China.
(Reporting by Sarah Young, Sam Tabahriti and Alistair Smout, editing by Paul Sandle, Aidan Lewis)
The arrests were made as part of a counter-terrorism investigation into suspected national security offences related to China.
The investigation centers on suspected violations of the national security act with links to China.
The article was reported by Sam Tabahriti, written by Sarah Young, and edited by Paul Sandle.
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