Former MI6 man in China spies probe

Daily US Times: A Whitehall official has confirmed that a British businessman, formerly of MI6, is under investigation for allegedly selling information to undercover spies from China.

Fraser Cameron, who runs the EU-Asia Centre think tank, is suspected of passing sensitive information about the European Union to two spies allegedly posing as Brussels-based journalists.

Mr Cameron is alleged to have exchanged the information for thousands of Euros, but he told The Times the allegations were “ridiculous”.

The businessman had worked for Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service MI6 from 1976 to 1991 and says he has no access to any “secret or confidential information”.

Mr Cameron, who has also worked for the European Commission and Foreign Office, told Politico that the allegations against him “are without foundation”, saying he has “a wide range of Chinese contacts as part of my duties with the EU-Asia Centre and some of them may have a double function”.

A senior Whitehall official, who asked to be unnamed, told the BBC the investigation had been a long-running joint inquiry between Belgian and British intelligence and claimed that a breakthrough had come in recent months.

The official said this was a great example of how closely British intelligence worked with its European partners.

Frank Gardner, The BBC’s security correspondent, says there have been growing fears about the extent of covert Chinese intelligence-gathering in Europe, including over sensitive negotiations between the EU and Britain over Brexit.

The state security service of Belgium is quoted by the Financial Times (FT) as saying Mr Cameron’s alleged actions posed “a clear threat towards the European institutions” based in the Belgian capital.

The investigation is reportedly being run by Belgium’s federal prosecutors.

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