MI5 believes China must be placed in 'enhanced' tier of threats, Labour ministers are told By MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 17:33 EST, 16 December 2024 | Updated: 18:03 EST, 16 December 2024 e-mail 5 View comments Labour is under pressure to toughen its stance on China in the wake of the scandal of the alleged spy who befriended Prince Andrew. The Government was urged on Monday to put the Communist superpower on a long-delayed list of countries that pose the biggest national security risks to the UK. Ministers were told that even MI5 believes China should be placed on the ‘enhanced’ tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), which compels people working for foreign powers to declare their lobbying.
However there are fears that major British businesses are trying to block the move as damaging to Chinese investment, and it could be resisted by Labour as Sir Keir Starmer attempts to improve relations with Beijing . Former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat welcomed the belated introduction of FIRS next year but told the Commons: ‘The real question is whether it’s worth having and the advice from MI5 was very clear: if China isn’t in the enhanced tier, it’s not worth having.’ He asked: ‘Will China be in that tier?’ His Labour successor Dan Jarvis replied: ‘We’re looking very carefully, very closely, working with colleagues across Government, to look at how we can best structure the scheme.
’ Ex Tory leader Sir Iain.