Three Chinese spies posing as media reporters expelled from Britain

Three Chinese spies who entered the UK posing as journalists have been repatriated to China after being exposed by MI5. The picture shows MI5.

The Daily Telegraph has revealed that British authorities have deported three Chinese spies who posed as journalists in Britain over the past year.

“Citing unnamed senior government sources, the Daily Telegraph reported today that the three Chinese spies are understood to be intelligence officers attached to the Chinese Communist Party‘s Ministry of State Security.

They have been forced to return to China after their true identities were revealed by MI5,” the paper said. MI5 is Britain’s domestic intelligence agency.

The source said the three men claimed they “worked for three different Chinese media organizations” and said they had all entered the U.K. within the past 12 months.

The report did not disclose the names of the three Chinese media organizations.

Tensions between the UK and China are growing as the UK criticizes Beijing‘s crackdown on Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and as the UK bans the use of China’s huawei Technologies equipment for domestic 5G networks, citing security concerns.

Ofcom today revoked the broadcasting license of China Global Television Network (CGTN) after finding that its ownership structure is Chinese state-owned and in breach of UK law.

Ofcom said Star China Media Limited, which holds CGTN’s license to broadcast in the UK, “does not have editorial responsibility” for CGTN. As a result, “Star China Media did not meet the legal requirements to control the licensed service and was not a legitimate licensee,” and the transfer of the license to another media group could still be linked to the Chinese Communist Party.