China: Breach of UK Parliamentarians’ Data

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Con)]

My Lords, when this Question was asked in the other place, the Minister for Security rather surprisingly accused my honourable friend Alicia Kearns of politicising this issue. He then disappointingly proceeded to ignore many of the questions asked. I am sure the noble Lord the Minister will be far more constructive and will answer some of the questions that his colleague neglected, particularly around the security position of Members of Parliament. The crucial point is: why did the Government or their agencies not brief those parliamentarians who were affected that their phone records and financial information had been obtained by agents of the CCP?

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Hanson of Flint) (Lab)]

I always try to be helpful to the noble Lord, and I will try to be helpful today. He will know that there is an ongoing FBI investigation into this matter. There is an outstanding Interpol warrant for arrest. The Government will not comment for security reasons on what they knew and when, because it is an ongoing investigation that requires co-operation and discussion and I cannot relate to it in this House. He will also know that my right honourable friend the Member for Barnsley North, who is the Security Minister, indicated in response to questions in the other place that he was happy to arrange for confidential briefings to take place with relevant Members. Obviously, the security of Members is a matter for both Houses and we will co-operate on ensuring that Members are apprised of those security issues. I cannot add any more to that, but I hope that will help him. I will, as ever, if the opportunity arises, give him further briefings outside the Chamber should he so wish.

[Lord Fox (LD)]

My Lords, taking the Minister at his word when he says that he cannot give any more details, although I am sure others will try to extract them, I will broaden the question out slightly. In fact, it counterpoints some of the answers that we heard to the previous Question. The recent Commons Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Select Committee on China/UK economic relations, while being a different department from the Minister’s, struck on some very apposite issues. It highlighted the Government’s current case-by-case approach to decision-making—quite the opposite of what the Minister was talking about just now—and calls for a framework for a risk-management relationship with China. If we had such a framework, decisions such as the one we are talking about today, decisions that businesses make, decisions that universities make and decisions that the Civil Service makes will be within a structure. Can the Minister undertake to talk to colleagues to deliver such an explicit framework?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

The Government do have a consistent China policy across the board. We engage with China on security issues when we have to. We are very cognisant of the fact that China poses significant threats to the United Kingdom. But again, as my noble friend Lady Winterton mentioned during Question Time today, we are a major trading partner with China, with both inward and outward investment. It is important that we continue to engage with the Chinese Government and with Chinese businesses on those matters, but we are cognisant of the fact that we have to be aware of potential threats and challenges. That is not an inconsistent policy and I hope it will be reflected across government.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords, China is one of the four countries which have sanctioned me and I am one of the seven parliamentarians referred to in this Question, so, for transparency, I have skin in the game. Will the ever-helpful Minister—and he is—recognise that I am not asking him about the FBI or about Interpol inquiries? I want to know about Parliament and its procedures. Can he tell us exactly when the Government first learned that agents of the Chinese Communist Party regime were purloining phone records and financial and other personal information, including by payments to hired United Kingdom nationals? Why were the targeted parliamentarians, along with Mr Speaker and the Lord Speaker, not immediately alerted? Will the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House of Commons be asked to prepare a note on repercussions if a clear breach of parliamentary privilege? The Minister for Security, Mr Jarvis, tells us in the reply to this Question:

“Transnational repression will not be tolerated”.


It is therefore totally unacceptable that any Member of the House has been sanctioned by China. So when will the Government implement the July 2025 unanimous recommendation of the Joint Committee on Human Rights that China should be placed in the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I will try to answer the questions the noble Lord has raised. I cannot and will not comment in this House on issues of national security in relation to what Governments know, when and how. I cannot do that, but I will give him the assurance that officials in the Home Office are in discussion with the House of Commons authorities and indeed with the office of this House to examine those security implications. As my right honourable friend said yesterday, and I confirm it again today, he is happy to give briefings on a Privy Council basis to Members who have been affected. I understand that that will cause some challenges, but we are happy to look at doing that. I will co-operate with the parliamentary authorities to look at what lessons can be learned from this case.

The noble Lord raised the wider issue of China and FIRS. He will know that FIRS came into effect on 1 July last year. We are due to produce an annual report very shortly on that first year of operation. We will not be able to comment on the further extension of FIRS to other nations, be they China or any other, because we cannot hold discussions publicly before any confirmation. In the event of any extension of FIRS to another country, we will bring appropriate measures before both Houses of Parliament, as is normally the case. We keep it under review at all times, but I cannot give him the assurance that he seeks today on those matters.

[Lord Carlile of Berriew (CB)]

My Lords, given the extraordinary supply-chain penetration of the UK market by China, including for example, to be topical, that 95% of the Christmas decorations sold in the next few weeks in the UK will have been made in China, will the Foreign Secretary take the trouble to speak directly to his counterpart in China and remind them that money talks and that there is limited tolerance in this country for the sort of interference that has been described by my noble friend for penetrating the private material of parliamentarians? Will he also perhaps tell them at the same time that they would learn far more by reading Hansard every day than by looking into our bank accounts?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

Again, I say that I take very seriously the potential impact on any Member of Parliament, either in the Commons or the Lords, of the activities that are under current FBI investigation. I also say to the noble Lord that on 4 November the Government announced the Great Britain due diligence regime. This forthcoming legislation, which my noble friend Lady Winterton will be dealing with, strengthens the UK’s approach to forced labour in supply chains, mandatory human rights, due diligence and legal powers. We will be working closely with businesses and other stakeholders to look at how those measures are enforced. At all times, we keep under general review the security implications of any activity and purchase from UK sources of a range of foreign Government-produced materials.

[Lord Shinkwin (Con)]

My Lords, I appreciate the national security constraints that the Minister has just mentioned and I thank him for his assurance that lessons will be learned from this. I ask him to assure the House and the Lord Speaker, as well as the Speaker and Members in the other place, that one of those lessons is that they will be warned under Privy Council rules in advance of, for example, the media publicising the threat.

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I assure all noble Lords and honourable and right honourable Members in the Commons that we will ensure that officials in the Home Office and our agencies work closely with operational partners to understand the full background to any particular activity. As I have outlined to the House, I am happy for officials to meet with the individuals who have those concerns but also to liaise with the Lord Speaker and with the House of Commons Speaker on how we can protect the integrity of the democratic process.