Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his department has made as to whether the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has used its London operations to advance the political priorities of the Chinese Communist Party.

The Government is clear that protecting our national security is its first duty. We keep potential threats to the UK's national and economic security under close review and will not hesitate to act where concerns are identified. The Government does not comment on specific operational or intelligence assessments. More broadly, our approach is evidence-based and risk-based, and we use a range of regulatory and economic security measures to protect the UK's interests. This includes powers available under the National Security Act and other relevant legislation to address threats where they arise.