China calls accusations it hacked MoD ‘completely fabricated and malicious slanders’
China has called accusations it hacked the Ministry of Defence “completely fabricated and malicious slanders”.
Sky News revealed on Monday night China is behind a massive data breach involving the MoD.
The government will not name the country involved when a minister makes a statement to parliament today, Sky News understands, but two or three attempts were made to hack MoD employees – including personnel.
A cyber attack on an MoD payroll system was carried out, with names and bank details of current army, Royal Navy and RAF personnel and some veterans exposed.
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London denied the country had anything to do with an MoD hack and said it had made “relevant responses” to accusations on the 25 and 27 March.
He accused the UK of politicising cyber security and claimed there was no factual evidence of China hacking the MoD.
The spokesman said: “I will hereby reiterate that the so-called cyber attacks by China against the UK are completely fabricated and malicious slanders.
“We strongly oppose such accusations. China has always firmly fought all forms of cyber attacks according to law. China does not encourage, support or condone cyber attacks.
“At the same time, we oppose the politicisation of cyber security issues and the baseless denigration of other countries without factual evidence.
“China has always upheld the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. China has neither the interest nor the need to meddle in the internal affairs of the UK.
“We urge the relevant parties in the UK to stop spreading false information, stop fabricating so-called China threat narratives, and stop their anti-China political farce.”
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The attack was focused on a contractor system that is not connected to the main MoD computer systems. It has now been taken down and a review launched.
All salaries will be paid this month and the MoD hopes serving personnel will not be concerned about their safety, with staff to be provided with advice and support.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps is due to make a statement on the issue to the Commons this afternoon and, ahead of that, cabinet minister Mel Stride told Sky News the government takes cyber security “extremely seriously” but it is not yet pinning the blame on Beijing.
Downing Street refused to attribute the attack to a specific state or actor ahead of the statement.
The spokesman added: “In relation to the specific contractor involved in this incident, a security review of that contractor’s operations is under way and appropriate steps will be taken after that.”
Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP and former soldier, told Sky News China “was probably looking at the financially vulnerable with a view that they may be coerced in exchange for cash”.
“And if this type of cyber attack is taking place here in the UK we can assume other NATO countries will be targeted too,” he added.
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Sir Iain Duncan Smith says the government needs to stand up to China. File pic: PA
China is winning the war
Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who has been sanctioned by China, told Sky News: “China is behind this.
“And the reluctance, I think, comes from this panic that somehow if we upset China, China will kill the business.
“That’s not going to happen because China is so desperate at the moment for trade. We’ve got to recognise if we don’t stand up for the defence of our freedoms or human rights, the right to speak out, if we wish it then we will be worth nothing in the free world.
“I’m afraid China is winning on this war and we’re not even prepared to accept that it is a war.”
Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the hack was “deeply concerning” and the government “has got questions to answer”.
Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said Beijing has carried out many cyber attacks on Britain but the UK has only retaliated once in the form of sanctioning the companies carrying out the attack rather than the Chinese government.
“So I think you can see that there’s a broader pattern within the UK government, really not to upset China if they can avoid doing it even when we’re on the receiving end of offensive cyber attacks,” he said.
He added that FBI director Christopher Wray “put it pretty starkly” when he said Beijing’s cyber espionage programme is so vast it is bigger than all its major competitors combined.
The hack targeted an MoD payroll system. File pic: Reuters
Not China’s first cyber attack on UK
The MoD has been working at speed over the weekend to understand the scale of the latest hack but it is understood investigations have not so far shown any data has been taken.
However, the hack could raise questions about whether other countries with challenging relationships with China will want to share sensitive intelligence with the UK.
The attack comes less than two months after “state-affiliated actors”, alleged to be working on behalf of China, were blamed by the government for two “malicious” cyber attack campaigns in the UK.
Backbench Tory MPs accused the government of not going far enough, with former immigration minister Robert Jenrick calling the government’s actions “feeble and derisory”. The foreign affairs committee chair Alicia Kearns deemed them “sadly insufficient”.
Britain will not lower its standards or water down regulation in exchange for a trade deal with the US, the chancellor has confirmed.
Rachel Reeves was speaking ahead of a pivotal meeting with her American counterpart in Washington DC.
In an interview with Sky News, Ms Reeves said she was “confident” that a deal would be reached but said she had red lines on food and car standards, adding that changes to online safety were “non-negotiable for the British government”.
The comments mark the firmest commitment to a slew of rules and regulations that have long been a gripe for the Americans.
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The US administration is pushing for the UK to relax rules on agricultural exports, including hormone-treated beef.
While Britain could lower tariffs on some agricultural products that meet regulations, ministers have been clear that it will not lower its standards.
However, the government has been less firm with its stance on online safety.
A tech red line
The US tech industry has fiercely opposed Britain’s Online Safety Act, which was introduced in 2023 and requires tech companies to shield children from harmful content online.
In an earlier draft UK-US trade deal, the British government was considering a review of the bill in the hope of swerving US tariffs.
However, the chancellor suggested that this was no longer on the table.
“On food standards, we’ve always been really clear that we’re not going to be watering down standards in the UK and similarly, we’ve just passed the Online Safety Act and the safety, particularly of our children, is non-negotiable for the British government,” she said.
She added that Britain was “not going to water down areas of road safety”, a move that could pave the way for American SUVs that have been engineered to protect passengers but not pedestrians.
While non-tariff barriers will remain intact, it was reported on Tuesday night that the UK could lower its automotive tariff from 10% to 2.5%.
The calculations behind Reeves’s red lines
What can Britain offer the Americans if it’s not prepared to lower its standards?
Donald Trump has previously described non-tariff barriers that block US exporters as “cheating”.
Britain does have some scope to bring down tariff rates – and Rachel Reeves suggested that this was her focus – but ours is already a highly open economy, we don’t have huge scope to cut tariff rates.
The real prize for the Americans is in the realm of these non-tariff barriers.
There has been much speculation about what the UK could offer up, but the chancellor on Wednesday gave a comprehensive commitment that she would not dilute standards.
There are many who will breathe a collective sigh of relief – from UK farmers to road safety campaigners and parents of young children.
While the government is sensitive to any potential public backlash, it also has another factor to think about.
When Ms Reeves arrives back home, she will begin preparations for a UK-EU summit in London next month.
The UK’s food and road safety standards are, in many areas, in sync with Europe, and Britain is seeking even deeper integration.
Lowering standards for the Americans would make that deeper alignment with the Europeans impossible.
The chancellor has to decide which market is more valuable to Britain.
The answer is Europe.
Back at home, the chancellor suggested that she was still open to relaxing rules on the City of London, even though global financial markets have endured a period of turmoil, triggered by President Trump’s trade war.
Reforms at home?
In her Mansion House speech last November, the chancellor said post-2008 reforms had “gone too far” and set the course for deregulating the City.
Asked if that was a wise move in light of the recent sharp swings in the financial markets, Ms Reeves said: “I want regulators to regulate not just for risk but also for growth.
“We are making reforms and we have set out new remit letters to our financial services regulators.”
Britain’s borrowing costs hit their highest level in almost 30 years after Mr Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs announcements, a stark reminder that policy decisions in the US have the power to raise UK bond yields and in turn, affect the chancellor’s budget, dent her already small fiscal headroom and derail her plans for tax and spend.
However, the chancellor said she would not consider adapting her fiscal rules, which include a promise to cover day-to-day spending with tax receipts, even if it gives her more room to manoeuvre in the face of volatility.
“Fiscal rules are non-negotiable for a simple reason, that Britain must offer under this government fiscal and financial stability, which is so important in a world of global uncertainty,” she said.
Robert Jenrick has vowed to “bring this coalition together” to ensure that Conservatives and Reform UK are no longer fighting each other for votes by the time of the next election, according to a leaked recording obtained by Sky News.
The shadow justice secretary told an event with students last month he would try “one way or another” to make sure Reform UK and the Tories do not compete at another general election and hand a second term in office to Keir Starmer in the process.
In the exclusive audio, Mr Jenrick can be heard telling the students he is still working hard to put Reform UK out of business – the position of the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick. Pic: PA
However, more controversially, the comments also suggest he can envisage a time when that position may no longer be viable and has to change. He denies any suggestion this means he is advocating a Tory-Reform UK pact.
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The shadow justice secretary came second to Mrs Badenoch in the last leadership contest and is the bookies’ favourite to replace her as the next Conservative leader.
Robert Jenrick lost the Tory leadership contest to Kemi Badenoch. Pic: PA
Speaking to the UCL Conservative association dinner in late March, he can be heard saying: “[Reform UK] continues to do well in the polls. And my worry is that they become a kind of permanent or semi-permanent fixture on the British political scene. And if that is the case, and I say, I am trying to do everything I can to stop that being the case, then life becomes a lot harder for us, because the right is not united.
“And then you head towards the general election, where the nightmare scenario is that Keir Starmer sails in through the middle as a result of the two parties being disunited. I don’t know about you, but I’m not prepared for that to happen.
“I want the fight to be united. And so, one way or another, I’m determined to do that and to bring this coalition together and make sure we unite as a nation as well.”
This is the furthest a member of the shadow cabinet has gone in suggesting that they think the approach to Reform UK may evolve before the next general election.
Last night, Mr Jenrick denied this meant he was advocating a pact with Reform UK.
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A source close to Mr Jenrick said: “Rob’s comments are about voters and not parties. He’s clear we have to put Reform out of business and make the Conservatives the natural home for all those on the right, rebuilding the coalition of voters we had in 2019 and can have again. But he’s under no illusions how difficult that is – we have to prove over time we’ve changed and can be trusted again.”
Mrs Badenoch has said in interviews that she cannot see any circumstances that the Tories under her leadership would do a deal with Reform UK.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Pic: PA
In next week’s local elections, Reform UK will compete directly against the Tories in a series of contests from Kent to Lincolnshire. At last year’s general election, in more than 170 of the 251 constituencies lost by the Conservatives the Reform vote was greater than the margin of the Tories’ defeat.
Today’s YouGov/Sky voting intention figures put Reform UK in front on 25%, Labour on 23% and the Conservatives on 20%, with the Lib Dems on 16% and Greens on 10%.
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