Hours after it was reported that a researcher working in Britain’s parliament had been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, The Sunday Times revealed his identity, reporting that the suspect is allegedly the director of a China-focused think tank co-founded by several high-profile conservative lawmakers—including the nation’s security minister.
The researcher was named on Sunday night by the newspaper as Chris Cash, a 28-year-old history graduate and “long-suffering Scottish rugby follower,” according to an archived version of his Twitter account.
Cash was also reportedly a fixture on the parliamentary social scene, frequently seen rubbing elbows with civil servants, aides, researchers, and journalists at boozy events. One political reporter for The Sun proclaimed on Sunday that she’d previously matched with the alleged spy on the dating app Hinge.
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“I had a lucky escape with Mr X,” she wrote, explaining that they’d never actually gone on a date, “but what if the next person, or the country, doesn’t?”
The arrest of the accused spy occurred in March, according to an earlier Sunday Times report. Then unidentified, the suspect was said to be a Westminster researcher in his late twenties with a parliamentary pass and links to several senior politicians.
Security officials believed that the researcher was recruited as a sleeper agent while living and working in China. He was then sent back to the United Kingdom “with the intention of infiltrating political networks critical of the Beijing regime,” according to the newspaper.
Scotland Yard confirmed the arrest of “a man in his twenties… in Edinburgh.” He and one other suspect were released on bail until a date in early October, police said.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the U.K. released a statement late Sunday night strongly denying the accusations that the country was involved in an espionage scheme involving Cash, calling them “malicious slander.”
“The so-called claim that China is suspected of ‘stealing British intelligence’ is completely fabricated and malicious slander. We firmly oppose it,” an embassy spokesperson said. “We urge relevant parties in the U.K. to stop anti-China political manipulation and stop this self-directed and self-acted political farce.”
Prior to his alleged arrest, Cash led the China Research Group, a body “widely seen as advocating a more ‘hawkish’ British policy towards China,” according to a 2021 academic paper. Co-founded by Tory ministers Tom Tugendhat and Neil O’Brien in April 2020, the group’s committee at one point included up to seven other MPs.
The group’s website states that it was founded to “promote debate and fresh thinking about how Britain should respond to the rise of China,” focusing on industrial, technological, and foreign policy issues. In an ironic flourish, another of its stated aims is to “provide a trustworthy source of news and informed knowledge” on China.
Tugendhat, a frequent Beijing critic who became the British security minister last September, had “infrequent” contact with Cash during his time as director of the CRG, according to The Sunday Times. The two have reportedly had no contact since Tugendhat’s elevation to the Cabinet position.
Another senior politician with ties to Cash is reportedly Alicia Kearns, a Tory who serves as chair of the foreign affairs committee.
It was not immediately clear how much access Cash might have had to foreign affairs intelligence, or what kind of influence, if any, he might have held in Westminster. He held a parliamentary pass but did not have security clearance, according to The Sunday Times.
A number of unnamed MPs expressed frustration to the newspaper about being left in the dark as to Cash’s identity and any potential security breaches. One said that they hadn’t known about the arrest until they read the earlier Sunday Times report.
“I’m in a complete state of shock. We weren’t told about this, we haven’t been given any support,” said one lawmaker sanctioned by China. “All sanctioned MPs should have been told. How many more people are there in parliament who might be targeting us?”
Another complained that “Alicia didn’t tell anyone” about the matter, adding, “We’re all really pissed off. She’s been a nightmare on this.”
A source close to Kearns told The Sunday Times that it was “preposterous” to suggest she could have come forward or discussed the case previously, saying anyone who says otherwise has “zero understanding of legal investigations or intelligence work.”
Two hours before The Sunday Times identified Cash, Kearns addressed the paper’s report of his arrest. “I will not be commenting,” she tweeted. “While I recognise the public interest, we all have a duty to ensure any work of the Authorities is not jeopardized.”
In an accompanying editorial justifying its decision to name Cash, The Sunday Times said that he had helped Kearns with her campaign to lead the foreign affairs committee, and had drafted briefing notes for her.
Cash grew up in Edinburgh, and studied history at the University of St. Andrews. He taught English literature with the British Council in Hangzhou, China, before returning to the U.K. for a postgraduate degree in Chinese and globalization studies at King’s College London, according to one biography.
He was hired to work as the CRG’s researcher in 2021. In archived snapshots of his social media profiles, Cash shared articles from The Times of London and the i newspaper that quoted him as an expert on China. He also wrote a number of op-eds skeptical of Beijing’s policies on fossil fuels and Russia.
On Twitter, Cash also bragged about his job, calling it “one of the most dynamic, rewarding roles going in Parliament.”
“Lots of exciting projects in the pipeline,” he added.
On Sunday morning, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he’d confronted Chinese leaders about the alleged espionage at the G20 summit, calling it “obviously unacceptable.”
