Iain Duncan Smith listed among pro-democracy names sent to alleged Hong Kong spy, court told
Sir Iain Duncan Smith was among the names of several British politicians and pro-democracy supporters sent to a man accused of spying for Hong Kong, a court heard.
A message was sent to 64-year-old Chung Biu Yuen, containing names including Sir Iain, the chairman of the Chinese inter-parliamentary alliance, who has been a vocal critic of China and considered threats from Beijing.
The court heard a message sent by former Hong Kong Police chief George Lee, “suggesting that Lee had tasked Yuen with gathering intelligence” about protest organizations in the UK.
Yuen is on trial at the Old Bailey in London alongside former UK Border Force officer Chi Leung Wai, from Staines-upon-Thames, also known as Peter Wai. The men, who are dual Chinese and British citizens, are accused of assisting Hong Kong’s intelligence service by “agreeing to undertake acts of information gathering, surveillance and deception” in the United Kingdom between December 2023 and May 2024. Both deny the charges under the UK National Security Act. Wai, from Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey; and Yuen, of Hackney, east London, denied the charges against them.
Prosecutors, who opened the case on Wednesday, alleged the men discussed paying “special attention” to MPs and councilors ahead of Chinese National Day events in 2021.
Allegedly, a man named Eddie Ma, a former Hong Kong police officer, asked Wai to “make an investigation” into a number of pro-democracy dissidents who had left the country, including Nathan Law.
Mr Ma told Wai he was interested in information regarding Mr Law and former Hong Kong politician Chi Fung Hui, the court heard on Wednesday; Both are currently wanted on national security charges in Hong Kong.
Prosecutors said Mr Ma offered Wai a “monthly budget” of £4,500 to record details including places they had gone, addresses, colleagues and personal details along with photographs.
The court heard Mr Ma also told Wai that he could use immigration-related systems he had access to to obtain details of Hong Kong asylum seekers as part of his job as a Border Force officer.
Opening the prosecution’s case, Duncan Atkinson KC said the pair’s actions dovetailed with public statements by the country’s authorities offering “rewards” of up to HK$1 million (£100,000) for information leading to the “location or capture” of people believed to be linked to pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Prosecutors allege that Yuen, an employee of the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office (HKETO) in London, used his role to gather useful intelligence for Hong Kong authorities, including on those believed to be pro-democracy dissidents.
The court heard he also tasked Wai to undertake “various activities” that would “benefit the interests” of China and to carry out such activities himself.
The court was told phone messages between Yuen and Wai showed pro-democracy protester Nathan Law was being spied on.
In April 2023, Wai and Yuen allegedly began talking to a recruit named Matthew Trickett, a former Royal Marine who was then working as a Border Force officer. Trickett died in 2024.
Prosecutors claimed Trickett played a “key role” in the pair’s search for information, including his own searches on Mr Law in the Home Office database.
In November 2023, Trickett asked to take part in a surveillance operation at the Oxford Union, where he intended to obtain photographs of Mr Law. The court heard Wai used ChatGPT to create a surveillance plan for the incident.
The pair are also accused of “taking the law into their own hands” and foreign interference by breaking into the address of Monica Kwong, a former Hong Kong resident who left in December 2023 and is accused of committing fraud against her employer, Tina Zou.
The court heard the pair took steps to discover where Ms Kwong was living in Pontefract before using “underhand methods, deception and then force” to “achieve their aims”.
Mr Atkinson KC told the jury the defendants staked out his address before gaining entry by pretending to be electricians coming to fix a fuse and pouring water under the front door to pretend the building was flooded.
The court heard that when the pair were caught by UK police on May 1, 2024, they decided to “break into” the woman’s home “as if it were a legitimate police operation”.
Mr Atkinson said the pair “misrepresented” themselves in a bid to gain access to Ms Kwong’s flat. He added that the actions were carried out “under the control of a foreign power, through HKETO, under the direction of Mr. Yuen.”
Wai started working for the UK Border Force in December 2020. The court heard that, during his employment, he carried out a series of searches on a computer system called ATLAS, which contained immigration status records and personal information, including names and contact details.
Prosecutors allege he called “a number of” names, including retired Hong Kong police officers and co-defendant Yuen.
The court heard Wai was paid directly from the HKETO bank account.
The defendants are jointly charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service between 20 December 2023 and 2 May 2024, and a second charge of foreign interference by breaking into a UK residential address on 1 May 2024. They deny all accusations.
The trial, which is expected to last up to six weeks, is ongoing.
