Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden begins by telling the House of Commons that everyone will recognise the seriousness of the issue, particularly in a year when so many democratic elections will be taking place around the world.
He wants to reassure MPs that the government is taking steps to "address the threat".
He says Chinese state affiliated actors have been responsible for two malicious cyber campaigns targeting the UK's democratic institutions and parliamentarians.
Deputy PM Dowden speaks about UK's response to cyber-attacks
We're about to hear from the Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden on the UK's response to cyber-attacks.
Dowden is expected to link the cyber attacks on the Electoral Commission to China - the attacks took place in 2021 but the details were revealed last year.
Stay with us as we hear what the Deputy PM has to say.
You can also watch the proceedings live by hitting Play at the top of the page.
Analysis
Fresh sanctions would put new era of UK-China relations in doubt
Laura Bicker
China correspondent, reporting from Beijing
There are several key standout phrases in the response
by China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian earlier, who avoided mentioning the United Kingdom by name in his statement on cyber incidents.
He said countries should have “sufficient, objective
evidence” before making what he described as “baseless accusations”.
He also added that it was “crucial” that “countries did not
politicise these issues.”
This latest spat comes just a few months after it looked
like the relationship between Beijing and London was in the process of being
repaired.
The UK had in the past voiced concerns about threats to civil
liberties in the former British colony of Hong Kong and Beijing’s failure to
condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and of course previous alleged incidents
of cyber espionage.
A visit by former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly last
August, the first visit to Beijing by a UK foreign minister in five years,
seemed to ease some of the tension.
China also welcomed the return of
David Cameron. The new foreign secretary once called for a “golden era” with
China and state media headlines pondered if the two countries were set for a
“new era of co-operation”.
But the prospect of fresh sanctions by the UK government
will likely prompt Beijing to retaliate in some form – putting the potential
for a “new era” in doubt.
Analysis
China regards the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance as an ‘extremist political block’
Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst
Chinese state media have devoted a lot of attention historically
to criticising the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) – which the MPs
thought to be victims of cyber-attacks are members of.
Since the founding of the body in 2020, Chinese media have had
strong words to say about it and have repeatedly criticised statements made by
members related to Chinese policies on Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
In June 2020, the national Global Times newspaper called it “a
farce which aims to seek attention and create an anti-China climate among the
people of the West”.
It has accused it of being
“ideologically driven” and the China Daily newspaper has called it a “sinister”
body and an “extremist political block”.
Ultimately, the state
regards it as a way for Western nations to collectively "contain
China".
Members of the IPAC are repeatedly targeted as part of large-scale
online trolling campaigns on platforms like X, where they are accused of being
“anti-China”.
These appear to originate
from China, despite X being blocked in the country.
Why is the UK government acting now?
Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent
One question hanging over today’s events is why is the UK
government acting now? It’s still unanswered.
The hacking of the Electoral Commission happened in 2021.
The MPs who have been targeted by China were sanctioned by Beijing in 2021 too.
They have long called for the government to do more in response.
So why is it only two and a half years later that the UK is
responding and making public what it knows?
The MP Tim Loughton just hinted in the press conference that
it may have been pressure from the UK’s partners who have also been dealing
with Chinese hacking and subversion that has prompted the UK to act now.
We’ll see if there is a good explanation later. But in the
meantime it weakens the UK’s line that it is a top priority to deal with such
Chinese threats.
What did we learn from the press conference by the 'hacked' MPs?
We've just heard from three government ministers who are thought to have been targeted in cyber-attacks by China. Here's what Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Stewart McDonald and Tim Loughton had to say:
Duncan Smith opened the remarks stating that he and his colleagues had been subject to hacking and harassment by China
He listed four demands for the government, which included the need for those responsible to sanctioned and support for MPs and other victims
Loughton said he believed there had been "a very clear, malign influence by China", since Lord David Cameron returned to government as Foreign Secretary
He added that he expected today's statement from the deputy PM in Parliament to swing the dial "towards the risk category over the opportunities category" when it comes to China
McDonald said that universities in the UK were "massively overdependent" on money from China and that if politics didn't catch up, things would get "worse and worse"
Duncan Smith described the Chinese state as an "aggressive and brutal regime" and said the West needed to "wake up"
Finally, Loughton said he was concerned about the influence China may have on upcoming democratic elections, including those in the UK and US. He said there was a need to be "extra-vigilant" to prevent that from happening
Video content
Video caption: Duncan Smith calls for UK action against ChinaDuncan Smith calls for UK action against China
McDonald says Hong Kong students must be defended
And a final line to bring you from the panel of MPs we just heard.
Asked about what the government can do to protect dissidents from harassment, Duncan Smith says "we're dealing with an aggressive and brutal regime that practices torture and genocide. As they grow in power we are shrinking before them".
He adds: "We need to defend our virtues and values."
Specifically on universities, McDonald highlights that with so many students coming to the UK from China, universities are "massively dependent" on China for so much of their revenue.
He says "we need to do what businesses are doing" and have "a national dialogue" about the change that are needed to be make.
McDonald adds: "We must defend the open institutions, especially the students from Hong Kong.
"The fact that we are not seeing that is deeply disturbing. This is how the contest manifests itself."
Parliamentarians were sanctioned from China for speaking up - Tim Loughton
In response to the final press conference question, Tim Loughton MP said he cannot visit China due to sanctions imposed by the government.
He added: "It seemed absurd when seven parliamentarians were sanctioned from China for speaking up and doing our job".
"We were readily allowing the Chinese ambassadors to use the mother of all democracies and to use it as a platform," Loughton said.
China has 'many tentacles' - Tim Loughton MP
Asked during the press conference if he was concerned about Beijing's influence in upcoming elections, including the UK's general election and the US presidential elections, Tim Loughton MP said yes.
He added that the government has been preparing for this possibility and have already set up a taskforce to prevent that from happening.
Loughton continued by saying, "We have to be ever-vigilant", and said that China has "many tentacles", influencing schools, businesses and local authorities.
He said China is "in the business of trying to influence democracies", and cites the high number of upcoming democratic elections as a reason for concern.
"We all need to be vigilant, not just the UK," he added.
We're dealing with an 'aggressive and brutal regime' - Duncan Smith
During the press conference, Sir Iain Duncan Smith also spoke about the threat the UK faces from China.
We're dealing with an entity that is an "aggressive and brutal regime" that "practices torture, practices genocide", Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said.
We are clearly threatened by them and "as they grow in power and potency, we are shrinking before them", he added
And it's not just China that is a problem, says Duncan Smith, but an "axis of totalitarian countries" - including North Korea, Russia, China and Iran - which work closely together.
He says the UK has not worked as closely with its allies, allowing China and the others to gain ground over the UK and sway undecided countries to their side.
Quote Message: The West has to wake up to the fact this is a challenge to the very way that we live our lives. To our belief in democracy, human rights, freedom of expression, freedom of worship. These are the things that we hold dear, but we seem reluctant to want to defend those against the others who hold none of those virtues and values and want to take ours from us." from Sir Iain Duncan Smith
The West has to wake up to the fact this is a challenge to the very way that we live our lives. To our belief in democracy, human rights, freedom of expression, freedom of worship. These are the things that we hold dear, but we seem reluctant to want to defend those against the others who hold none of those virtues and values and want to take ours from us."
The press conference is over
The press conference with the MPs has finished, with Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Stewart McDonald and Tim Loughton answering several questions from journalists.
Stay with us as we catch you up on all the latest lines.
Politics has got so much catching up to do - SNP's Stewart McDonald
The SNP's Stewart McDonald tells the room "politics has got so much catching up to do", otherwise things will get "worse, and worse and worse".
McDonald also says universities in the UK are "massively overdependent on money which comes from the Chinese state".
He asks, should sanctions be imposed, what might happen to British universities?
I've had a 'wolf warrior' impersonating me, says Duncan Smith
The BBC's Chris Mason is up now, and he asks what the MPs have had to put up with during the attempted hacking.
He asks an additional question about a comparison with the 1930s, asking if that's the scale of the threat they see.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith says he's had a "wolf warrior" impersonating him for some time, emailing politicians all around the world calling him a "liar" and recounting his views.
He continues by saying eventually the impersonator went quiet and that MPs know they've had hacking attempts and that he isn't alone.
The SNP's Stewart McDonald goes on to say that he was targeted by Russia because of a member of his staff. He adds that the cyber-attack attempts affect "every single part of our society"
Video content
Video caption: MP believes he was targeted by China and RussiaMP believes he was targeted by China and Russia
Loughton hopes Foreign Office will be more willing to 'challenge' China
Sir Iain Duncan Smith tells the news conference that "most MPs are already clear that China is a threat", before adding "the reality is they are a threat".
Smith gives examples of businesses moving away from China because of a lack of trust, saying some have been "getting their IP stolen".
Tim Loughton adds that he hopes the Foreign Office which he describes as not liking to "rock the boat", will be willing to "challenge" China much more now.
UK should tell China 'we don't really trust you' - Duncan Smith
In response to another question, Sir Iain Duncan Smith goes on to say that the UK government's announcement about China's cyber espionage does not have to do with domestic politics.
All MPs are concerned about the threat of China, he says, and the real question is what advice is the government getting on that.
He mentions that many businesses are leaving China because they are becoming worried about Beijing.
Duncan Smith says that the UK should stand up to China to deal with them and tell the Chinese government that "we don't really trust you".
Has democracy been compromised?
Sir Iain Duncan Smith is next asked whether democracy has been compromised in light of cyber-attacks on the Electoral Commission.
The former Tory leader admits he believes the UK has not been quick enough in dealing with this - albeit he notes it is not through a lack of trying on the security services' behalf.
"I go back to 2020 when some of us opposed the entry of Huawei into 5G," he says. "And I thought the government had bad advice.
"Most of us were sanctioned because we had unearthed the Xinjiang genocide."
Very clear malign influence by China - Tim Loughton
Tim Loughton, who is the Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, is asked whether former Prime Minister David Cameron, who is now the foreign secretary, is the right person to be dealing with China.
Loughton replies by saying he believes there has been a "change in tone" from the government since Cameron returned and says there has been a "very clear malign influence by China".
He continues by saying Cameron has tried to get a balance between trade, security and human rights.
Loughton adds that he thinks the statement expected from the deputy PM this afternoon is that "the dial has very much swung towards the risk category over the opportunities category".
MPs list four demands for government on China
Sir Iain Duncan Smith continues by giving a list of four demands on behalf of himself and other MPs affected.
Firstly, he says China should immediately labelled as a threat, not as a challenge, in an upcoming review.
Secondly, Duncan Smith says China should be in the "enhanced tier" of the new foreign influence registration scheme.
Thirdly, there should be sanctions for those responsible for the abuses, he says.
Finally, Duncan Smith says there should be support for MPs and other victims of Beijing's "trans-national repression".
MPs subject to hacking and harassment by China - Iain Duncan Smith
BBCCopyright: BBC
Former Tory party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith starts off by saying that he and his colleagues have been subject to hacking and harassment by China.
But their discomfort "pales in comparison" to that suffered by Chinese dissidents in China, he says.
The UK is yet to impose a single sanction on anyone responsible for the destruction of freedom in Hong Kong, he says. In comparison, the US has sanctioned 40 people in that time, he adds.
"We must now enter a new era of relations with China, dealing with the contemporary Chinese Communist Party as it really is, not as we hoped it would become," he says.
Quote Message: Today’s announcement should mark a watershed moment where the UK takes a stand for values, human rights, and the international rules based system, upon which we all depend."
Today’s announcement should mark a watershed moment where the UK takes a stand for values, human rights, and the international rules based system, upon which we all depend."
MPs affected by cyber-attacks hold news conference
We are about to hear from Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Stewart McDonald and Tim Loughton - the three MPs who are are thought to have been targeted in the cyber-attacks.
Live Reporting
Edited by Jack Burgess and Marita Moloney
All times stated are UK
BreakingChinese state-affiliated actors behind two malicious cyber campaigns - deputy PM
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden begins by telling the House of Commons that everyone will recognise the seriousness of the issue, particularly in a year when so many democratic elections will be taking place around the world.
He wants to reassure MPs that the government is taking steps to "address the threat".
He says Chinese state affiliated actors have been responsible for two malicious cyber campaigns targeting the UK's democratic institutions and parliamentarians.
Deputy PM Dowden speaks about UK's response to cyber-attacks
We're about to hear from the Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden on the UK's response to cyber-attacks.
Dowden is expected to link the cyber attacks on the Electoral Commission to China - the attacks took place in 2021 but the details were revealed last year.
Stay with us as we hear what the Deputy PM has to say.
You can also watch the proceedings live by hitting Play at the top of the page.
Fresh sanctions would put new era of UK-China relations in doubt
Laura Bicker
China correspondent, reporting from Beijing
There are several key standout phrases in the response by China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian earlier, who avoided mentioning the United Kingdom by name in his statement on cyber incidents.
He said countries should have “sufficient, objective evidence” before making what he described as “baseless accusations”.
He also added that it was “crucial” that “countries did not politicise these issues.”
This latest spat comes just a few months after it looked like the relationship between Beijing and London was in the process of being repaired.
The UK had in the past voiced concerns about threats to civil liberties in the former British colony of Hong Kong and Beijing’s failure to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and of course previous alleged incidents of cyber espionage.
A visit by former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly last August, the first visit to Beijing by a UK foreign minister in five years, seemed to ease some of the tension.
China also welcomed the return of David Cameron. The new foreign secretary once called for a “golden era” with China and state media headlines pondered if the two countries were set for a “new era of co-operation”.
But the prospect of fresh sanctions by the UK government will likely prompt Beijing to retaliate in some form – putting the potential for a “new era” in doubt.
China regards the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance as an ‘extremist political block’
Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst
Chinese state media have devoted a lot of attention historically to criticising the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) – which the MPs thought to be victims of cyber-attacks are members of.
Since the founding of the body in 2020, Chinese media have had strong words to say about it and have repeatedly criticised statements made by members related to Chinese policies on Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
In June 2020, the national Global Times newspaper called it “a farce which aims to seek attention and create an anti-China climate among the people of the West”.
It has accused it of being “ideologically driven” and the China Daily newspaper has called it a “sinister” body and an “extremist political block”.
Ultimately, the state regards it as a way for Western nations to collectively "contain China".
Members of the IPAC are repeatedly targeted as part of large-scale online trolling campaigns on platforms like X, where they are accused of being “anti-China”.
These appear to originate from China, despite X being blocked in the country.
Why is the UK government acting now?
Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent
One question hanging over today’s events is why is the UK government acting now? It’s still unanswered.
The hacking of the Electoral Commission happened in 2021. The MPs who have been targeted by China were sanctioned by Beijing in 2021 too. They have long called for the government to do more in response.
So why is it only two and a half years later that the UK is responding and making public what it knows?
The MP Tim Loughton just hinted in the press conference that it may have been pressure from the UK’s partners who have also been dealing with Chinese hacking and subversion that has prompted the UK to act now.
We’ll see if there is a good explanation later. But in the meantime it weakens the UK’s line that it is a top priority to deal with such Chinese threats.
What did we learn from the press conference by the 'hacked' MPs?
We've just heard from three government ministers who are thought to have been targeted in cyber-attacks by China. Here's what Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Stewart McDonald and Tim Loughton had to say:
Video content
McDonald says Hong Kong students must be defended
And a final line to bring you from the panel of MPs we just heard.
Asked about what the government can do to protect dissidents from harassment, Duncan Smith says "we're dealing with an aggressive and brutal regime that practices torture and genocide. As they grow in power we are shrinking before them".
He adds: "We need to defend our virtues and values."
Specifically on universities, McDonald highlights that with so many students coming to the UK from China, universities are "massively dependent" on China for so much of their revenue.
He says "we need to do what businesses are doing" and have "a national dialogue" about the change that are needed to be make.
McDonald adds: "We must defend the open institutions, especially the students from Hong Kong.
"The fact that we are not seeing that is deeply disturbing. This is how the contest manifests itself."
Parliamentarians were sanctioned from China for speaking up - Tim Loughton
In response to the final press conference question, Tim Loughton MP said he cannot visit China due to sanctions imposed by the government.
He added: "It seemed absurd when seven parliamentarians were sanctioned from China for speaking up and doing our job".
"We were readily allowing the Chinese ambassadors to use the mother of all democracies and to use it as a platform," Loughton said.
China has 'many tentacles' - Tim Loughton MP
Asked during the press conference if he was concerned about Beijing's influence in upcoming elections, including the UK's general election and the US presidential elections, Tim Loughton MP said yes.
He added that the government has been preparing for this possibility and have already set up a taskforce to prevent that from happening.
Loughton continued by saying, "We have to be ever-vigilant", and said that China has "many tentacles", influencing schools, businesses and local authorities.
He said China is "in the business of trying to influence democracies", and cites the high number of upcoming democratic elections as a reason for concern.
"We all need to be vigilant, not just the UK," he added.
We're dealing with an 'aggressive and brutal regime' - Duncan Smith
During the press conference, Sir Iain Duncan Smith also spoke about the threat the UK faces from China.
We're dealing with an entity that is an "aggressive and brutal regime" that "practices torture, practices genocide", Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said.
We are clearly threatened by them and "as they grow in power and potency, we are shrinking before them", he added
And it's not just China that is a problem, says Duncan Smith, but an "axis of totalitarian countries" - including North Korea, Russia, China and Iran - which work closely together.
He says the UK has not worked as closely with its allies, allowing China and the others to gain ground over the UK and sway undecided countries to their side.
The press conference is over
The press conference with the MPs has finished, with Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Stewart McDonald and Tim Loughton answering several questions from journalists.
Stay with us as we catch you up on all the latest lines.
Politics has got so much catching up to do - SNP's Stewart McDonald
The SNP's Stewart McDonald tells the room "politics has got so much catching up to do", otherwise things will get "worse, and worse and worse".
McDonald also says universities in the UK are "massively overdependent on money which comes from the Chinese state".
He asks, should sanctions be imposed, what might happen to British universities?
I've had a 'wolf warrior' impersonating me, says Duncan Smith
The BBC's Chris Mason is up now, and he asks what the MPs have had to put up with during the attempted hacking.
He asks an additional question about a comparison with the 1930s, asking if that's the scale of the threat they see.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith says he's had a "wolf warrior" impersonating him for some time, emailing politicians all around the world calling him a "liar" and recounting his views.
He continues by saying eventually the impersonator went quiet and that MPs know they've had hacking attempts and that he isn't alone.
The SNP's Stewart McDonald goes on to say that he was targeted by Russia because of a member of his staff. He adds that the cyber-attack attempts affect "every single part of our society"
Video content
Loughton hopes Foreign Office will be more willing to 'challenge' China
Sir Iain Duncan Smith tells the news conference that "most MPs are already clear that China is a threat", before adding "the reality is they are a threat".
Smith gives examples of businesses moving away from China because of a lack of trust, saying some have been "getting their IP stolen".
Tim Loughton adds that he hopes the Foreign Office which he describes as not liking to "rock the boat", will be willing to "challenge" China much more now.
UK should tell China 'we don't really trust you' - Duncan Smith
In response to another question, Sir Iain Duncan Smith goes on to say that the UK government's announcement about China's cyber espionage does not have to do with domestic politics.
All MPs are concerned about the threat of China, he says, and the real question is what advice is the government getting on that.
He mentions that many businesses are leaving China because they are becoming worried about Beijing.
Duncan Smith says that the UK should stand up to China to deal with them and tell the Chinese government that "we don't really trust you".
Has democracy been compromised?
Sir Iain Duncan Smith is next asked whether democracy has been compromised in light of cyber-attacks on the Electoral Commission.
The former Tory leader admits he believes the UK has not been quick enough in dealing with this - albeit he notes it is not through a lack of trying on the security services' behalf.
"I go back to 2020 when some of us opposed the entry of Huawei into 5G," he says. "And I thought the government had bad advice.
"Most of us were sanctioned because we had unearthed the Xinjiang genocide."
Very clear malign influence by China - Tim Loughton
Tim Loughton, who is the Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, is asked whether former Prime Minister David Cameron, who is now the foreign secretary, is the right person to be dealing with China.
Loughton replies by saying he believes there has been a "change in tone" from the government since Cameron returned and says there has been a "very clear malign influence by China".
He continues by saying Cameron has tried to get a balance between trade, security and human rights.
Loughton adds that he thinks the statement expected from the deputy PM this afternoon is that "the dial has very much swung towards the risk category over the opportunities category".
MPs list four demands for government on China
Sir Iain Duncan Smith continues by giving a list of four demands on behalf of himself and other MPs affected.
Firstly, he says China should immediately labelled as a threat, not as a challenge, in an upcoming review.
Secondly, Duncan Smith says China should be in the "enhanced tier" of the new foreign influence registration scheme.
Thirdly, there should be sanctions for those responsible for the abuses, he says.
Finally, Duncan Smith says there should be support for MPs and other victims of Beijing's "trans-national repression".
MPs subject to hacking and harassment by China - Iain Duncan Smith
Former Tory party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith starts off by saying that he and his colleagues have been subject to hacking and harassment by China.
But their discomfort "pales in comparison" to that suffered by Chinese dissidents in China, he says.
The UK is yet to impose a single sanction on anyone responsible for the destruction of freedom in Hong Kong, he says. In comparison, the US has sanctioned 40 people in that time, he adds.
"We must now enter a new era of relations with China, dealing with the contemporary Chinese Communist Party as it really is, not as we hoped it would become," he says.
MPs affected by cyber-attacks hold news conference
We are about to hear from Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Stewart McDonald and Tim Loughton - the three MPs who are are thought to have been targeted in the cyber-attacks.
Stay with us as we hear what they have to say.