CHINA is believed to have targeted an SNP MP as well as other parliamentarians with a fresh series of cyberattacks aimed at undermining UK democracy.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden is expected to tell Parliament on Monday that Beijing is behind a wave of state-backed interference, the Sunday Times reported.
A small group of parliamentarians who have taken a hard-line on China are said to have been called to a briefing by Parliament’s director of security Alison Giles in relation to the activity.
They include former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former minister Tim Loughton, crossbench peer David Alton and SNP MP Stewart McDonald, according to the paper.
The four are members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) pressure group which focuses on issues involving the increasingly assertive Asian power.
In a statement, McDonald said: “Following today’s Sunday Times story in relation to China and parliament, in which myself and 3 other parliamentarians are named, a number of other news outlets have covered the story and are seeking comment and further information.
“We intend [to] do so tomorrow after an expected government statement, at which point we will have a short press conference.
“We won’t be offering any comment until then.”
Duncan Smith, Loughton, and Alton were also subjected in 2021 to sanctions by Beijing in a retaliatory move after they highlighted China’s “gross human rights violations”.
A Government spokesperson declined to comment.
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