MI6 chief warns that Cameron’s approach to China damaged British intelligence

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Prime Minister David Cameron is facing growing pressure over his attitude towards China after a former deputy head of MI6 warned that British intelligence services are unable to deal with the escalating threat from China.

Nigel Inkster said that while MI6 was “clearly… having difficulties”, China was conducting “industrial-scale cyber espionage operations targeting developed Western countries”.

He pointed to the Cameron government’s attempts to develop friendly relations with China.

“In 2015, the UK government was talking about a ‘golden age’ for UK-China relations. Given that situation, it is perhaps not surprising that security services are not where they should be,” he said. said. I newspaper.

In a bid to forge closer economic ties with the Asian superpower, Lord Cameron also hosted President Xi Jinping’s state visit in 2015.

The Sunak government has clearly taken a tougher stance toward China. The prime minister said in November that Cameron’s return as foreign secretary did not mean a return to a “golden age” approach.

Mr Inkster said Britain’s blind spots were widespread “across British intelligence services”, including MI5 and GCHQ.

He said MI6 “clearly has difficulties in terms of linguistic expertise and collective general historical and cultural awareness” regarding China.

He added: “There has been a significant increase in human intelligence-gathering activity, and Chinese services appear to be operating essentially without political constraints. They are willing to take risks and obtain the information they need. “I am motivated to do whatever it takes to help,” he added.

Sir Richard Moore, head of MI6, said: politiko The intelligence community announced in July that it is now committing more resources to China than any other mission.

This “reflects the critical need to understand both the Chinese government’s intentions and capabilities,” he said.

But Inkster warned that alone may not be enough to counter Beijing’s capabilities.

“We know there are extensive efforts underway to remedy these deficiencies,” he said. “A lot of resources are currently being put into making Britain’s intelligence services better… but that will take some time.”

But he said he welcomed a new national security law that would make it easier to prosecute Chinese spies, replacing “official secrets laws that date back to World War I.”