China has “strongly” rejected reports by the British press that a man arrested on suspicion of espionage was gathering information for Beijing, calling the accusation a “political farce”, writes AFP.

• “We strongly oppose and strongly demand that the targeted parties in the UK stop their anti-China political manipulations and stop staging such a political charade.
• The claim that China is suspected of stealing British intelligence is completely false and is nothing more than malicious slander,” said a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London when asked about London’s allegations.

British police announced on Saturday that they had arrested a 20-year-old man for spying at his home in Edinburgh. According to the Sunday Times, it is about a researcher who had contacts with MPs from the ruling Conservative Party when he worked in Parliament.

In March, the British authorities detained a man in his 30s on suspicion of violating the law on official secrecy.

Both have been released pending further proceedings, London police said, without giving further details.

The arrests prompted British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to express “deep concern” at “Beijing’s interference in “British parliamentary democracy” to his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Sunday.

(Source: Agerpres)