UPDATE 2-UK to summon Chinese ambassador after spying convictions

Britain will summon ​the Chinese ambassador following the conviction of two ‌men ​for spying on behalf of Hong Kong and ultimately China, Security Minister Dan Jarvis said on Thursday.

Britain will summon ​the Chinese ambassador following the conviction of two ‌men ​for spying on behalf of Hong Kong and ultimately China, Security Minister Dan Jarvis said on Thursday. “The activities carried out by these men, on behalf of China, ‌are an infringement of our sovereignty and will never be tolerated," Jarvis said in a statement.

"We will continue to hold China to account and challenge them directly for actions which put the safety of people in our country at ‌risk. "That is why the Foreign Office will summon the Chinese Ambassador to make it clear activity like this ‌was, and will always be, unacceptable on UK soil."

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Britain said in a statement it had lodged representations with the British government and that China would take necessary measures to safeguard its interests. "The facts of this case clearly show that ⁠this ​is nothing but a political move ⁠of abusing the law and manipulating the judicial process by the UK side," the spokesperson said.

"Its sole purpose is to embolden those ⁠anti-China elements who are hiding in the UK and bent on destabilising Hong Kong, and to smear the Chinese government and the ​Hong Kong SAR government." A Hong Kong government spokesperson said in a statement that the allegations were absolutely not ⁠related to the Hong Kong Government and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London (London ETO), nor were they party to ⁠the ​case.

"We firmly oppose any unfounded allegations against the HKSAR Government and the London ETO," the spokesperson said. Two men, including a British immigration officer, were found guilty in a London court on Thursday of spying on behalf ⁠of Hong Kong and ultimately China, targeting prominent pro-democracy dissidents now based in Britain.

Relations between Britain and China have ⁠been strained since a national ⁠security crackdown on sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 in Hong Kong, which was under British rule for 156 years before reverting to Chinese sovereignty almost three decades ago.