Ministerial statement on Wednesday, 4 March 2026, in the House of Commons, led by Dan Jarvis.

China: Foreign Interference Arrests

Statement on three arrests that took place this morning as part of a counter terrorism policing investigation into suspected offences under the National Security Act 2023

Secondary information

Type: Parliamentary proceeding
Reference: 781 cc813-828
Session: 2024-26
Department: Cabinet Office
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Related items: Foreign Influence Registration Scheme: China
Monday, 27 April 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Proceeding contributions: Dan Jarvis | 781 cc813-5 (Link to this contribution)
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement regarding three arrests that t...; 781 c815 (Link to this contribution); Lindsay Hoyle | 781 c815 (Link to this contribution)
Order. I am sure we appreciate the fact that the Minister has come to the House at the earliest o...; Alex Burghart | 781 cc815-6 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement, and I appreciate the speed with which he...; Dan Jarvis | 781 cc816-7 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his response. I am grateful to him for acknowledging the speed at ...; Lindsay Hoyle | 781 c817 (Link to this contribution)
I call the Chair of the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy.; Matt Western | 781 c817 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Minister for his immediate update to the House, given the recency of this breaking ne...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c818 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to my hon. Friend and his Committee for the important work that they do, and I am g...; Lindsay Hoyle | 781 c818 (Link to this contribution)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.; Lisa Smart | 781 c818 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Minister for giving me advance sight of the statement, even if at this stage he is ra...; Dan Jarvis | 781 cc818-9 (Link to this contribution)
Let me take this opportunity—on behalf, I am sure, of all Members in this House—to thank those wh...; Alex Barros-Curtis | 781 c819 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Minister for his statement and for all the work he does on the defending democracy ta...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c819 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend has raised important points with regard to our democracy on countless occasions, a...; Lindsay Hoyle | 781 c819 (Link to this contribution)
I call the Father of the House.; Edward Leigh | 781 c819 (Link to this contribution)
The Chinese only represent strength, and for them everything is transactional, so I think the cou...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c820 (Link to this contribution)
The Father of the House will have heard my introductory remarks, where I made it clear that Chine...; Bayo Alaba | 781 c820 (Link to this contribution)
The conflict in Iran is deeply concerning, and I was glad to see that the Government’s flights ar...; Lindsay Hoyle | 781 c820 (Link to this contribution)
I am not quite sure that is relevant. I call the Karen Bradley.; Karen Bradley | 781 c820 (Link to this contribution)
Given the vulnerabilities of Members of Parliament, can I urge the Security Minister to work with...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c820 (Link to this contribution)
The Chair of the Home Affairs Committee is absolutely right. I hope she understands the seriousne...; Mark Sewards | 781 c820 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Minister for his update on this difficult case. In his statement, he confirmed that t...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c820 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend raised this matter with the Foreign Secretary just yesterday, and he is right to d...; Jeremy Wright | 781 c821 (Link to this contribution)
As I hope the Minister would accept, the last trial of those accused of alleged espionage on beha...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c821 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to the right hon. and learned Member and share in much of the analysis that he has ...; Peter Dowd | 781 c821 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Minister for the update, and I welcome progress made on the counter-political interfe...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c821 (Link to this contribution)
The counter-political espionage and interference plan draws together numerous important strands o...; Edward Morello | 781 c821 (Link to this contribution)
I praise the work of our police and our security and intelligence services in this case. I thank ...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c822 (Link to this contribution)
All the points that the hon. Gentleman makes are entirely sound and reasonable. He will understan...; Chris Vince | 781 c822 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my hon. and gallant Friend for the work he does—and did, in his previous career—to ensure...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c822 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He has developed something of a knack for finding a good...; Andrew Murrison | 781 c822 (Link to this contribution)
The Minister spoke of “severe consequences”. Will he outline what those severe consequences might...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c822 (Link to this contribution)
The right hon. Gentleman, who is a very experienced Member of this House, will know that, given t...; Luke Charters | 781 c823 (Link to this contribution)
I recently visited the Defence Intelligence Academy with the armed forces parliamentary scheme an...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c823 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend makes an important point about the SIA. He is right that this Government have ensu...; Chris Law | 781 c823 (Link to this contribution)
The Government will be well aware that, through the united front, the Chinese Communist party has...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c823 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman makes some important points. He will have heard what I said about FIRS. It is ...; Peter Swallow | 781 c823 (Link to this contribution)
I have raised my concerns about foreign interference by Russia and China on many occasions, and t...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c824 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is right to raise that point, and he has done so consistently. The Rycroft review ...; Kieran Mullan | 781 c824 (Link to this contribution)
As the Minister said, at the heart of this is the question of whether our enemies and malign acto...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c824 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman raises his concerns, as he is entitled to. It was important—many would not agr...; Richard Tice | 781 c824 (Link to this contribution)
I recently made a submission to the Rycroft review relating my concerns about Chinese communist r...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c824 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for contributing to the Rycroft review, not least because he ...; Harriet Cross | 781 c824 (Link to this contribution)
China is a risk—we have so much evidence of that—yet the Secretary of State for Energy Security a...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c825 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Lady raises an important point. I can give her and the House the assurance that we have ...; Luke Taylor | 781 c825 (Link to this contribution)
I join all colleagues in the Chamber in expressing my shock about the news this morning. I am als...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c825 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman will understand that I cannot comment on specifics relating to individuals. Al...; Neil Shastri-Hurst | 781 c825 (Link to this contribution)
I know how seriously the Minister takes national security; he will feel keenly any interference w...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c825 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman is right: I do take these things incredibly seriously. I am grateful for his p...; Liz Saville Roberts | 781 c826 (Link to this contribution)
It is a source of concern that two of the three men were arrested in Wales, and that they have cl...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c826 (Link to this contribution)
The right hon. Member is right to raise the importance of the work done by the Electoral Commissi...; Ben Obese-Jecty | 781 c826 (Link to this contribution)
Will the Security Minister confirm whether the partner of the sitting Labour MP arrested on espio...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c826 (Link to this contribution)
I am disappointed that the hon. Gentleman did not ask me about FIRS, because he has consistently ...; Lindsay Hoyle | 781 c826 (Link to this contribution)
Just to reassure the hon. Gentleman, the answer is no.; Carla Lockhart | 781 c826 (Link to this contribution)
The Minister has said numerous times that the Government always prioritise UK national security, ...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c826 (Link to this contribution)
With great respect to the hon. Lady—I always listen carefully to what she has to say, because she...; Luke Evans | 781 c827 (Link to this contribution)
A Member of Parliament’s partner has been accused of spying for China. The Minister has been aske...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c827 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Member will have heard from my opening remarks that Chinese officials have been démarche...; Suella Braverman | 781 c827 (Link to this contribution)
As Home Secretary, I delivered the National Security Act 2023, largely because of the threat pose...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c827 (Link to this contribution)
Of course the Government will do everything to ensure that the counter-terrorism police and intel...; Gregory Stafford | 781 c828 (Link to this contribution)
The name of the Labour Member of Parliament whose husband has been arrested is circulating widely...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c828 (Link to this contribution)
On the hon. Gentleman’s first point, he will understand that membership of a Select Committee is ...; Jim Shannon | 781 c828 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Minister very much for his answers. Nobody in this House doubts his commitment to fin...; Dan Jarvis | 781 c828 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to the hon. Member, as always, for his words about our commitment to these matters....
Subjects: Counter-terrorism Arrests China Finance National security Members Political parties Politics and government Peers Espionage Security Social enterprises Subversion Think tanks
Legislation: National Security Act 2023
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Parliamentary proceeding on hansard.parliament.uk

China: Foreign Interference Arrests

Secondary information

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