Rishi Sunak has said Beijing is “acting in a way that is more authoritarian and assertive abroad” after Sky News revealed China hacked the Ministry of Defence
The prime minister made his first comments about the massive data breach on Tuesday lunchtime after Sky News revealed on Monday evening that China is responsible for hacking the armed forces’ third-party payroll system.
He refused to name China but said a “malign actor has compromised the armed forces payment network”.
“I set out a very robust policy towards China, which means that we need to take the powers which we have done to protect ourselves against the risk that China and other countries pose to us,” he added.
“They are a country with fundamentally different values to ours that are acting in a way that is more authoritarian and assertive abroad.”
Mr Sunak said he wanted to reassure people the MoD has already removed the network, taken it offline and is “making sure the people affected are supported in the right way”.
Names and bank details of current army, Royal Navy and RAF personnel and some veterans were exposed by the hack.
China said the accusations were “completely fabricated and malicious slanders”.
Advertisement
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:20
China: Hacking allegations ‘absurd’
‘China has no need to meddle in internal affairs of UK’
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 neither the interest nor the need to meddle in the internal affairs of the UK.”
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.
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”.
Image: 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.”
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.
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.
Image: The hack targeted an MoD payroll system. File pic: Reuters
Not China’s first cyber attack on UK
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.
CCTV and police bodycam footage allegedly showing three police officers being assaulted at Manchester Airport has been played to jurors.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, are said to have struck out after police were called to the airport on 23 July last year, following Amaaz allegedly headbutting a customer at a Starbucks in Terminal 2.
Minutes later, three police officers approached the defendants at the paystation in the terminal’s car park.
A jury at Liverpool Crown Court today watched CCTV footage from opposite angles, which captured what the prosecution says was a “high level of violence” being used by the siblings.
The prosecution says Amaaz resisted as officers tried to move him to arrest him, and Amaad then intervened.
Junior counsel Adam Birkby suggested Amaaz threw 10 punches, including one to the face of PC Lydia Ward, which knocked her to the floor.
His brother Amaad is then said to have aimed six punches at firearms officer PC Zachary Marsden.
Amaaz also allegedly kicked PC Marsden and struck firearms officer PC Ellie Cook twice with his elbow.
He is said to have punched PC Marsden from behind and had a hold of him, before PC Cook discharged her Taser.
Image: Mohammed Fahir Amaaz (left) and Muhammed Amaad (right) arrive at the court with their lawyer. Pic: PA
The bodycam and CCTV footage, submitted as evidence by the prosecution, allegedly shows the officers’ arrival in the Terminal 2 car park and their attempts to arrest the siblings, as well as their exchanges with them.
PC Ward can be heard saying “Oi, you b*****d” in footage from her bodycam, the prosecution evidence appears to show.
She then appears to fall to the floor and screams.
PC Cook, who is pointing her Taser at one of the defendants, then allegedly says: “Stay on the floor, stay on the floor whatever you do.”
“Get back, get back,” PC Ward appears to say.
The bodycam footage, shown to the jury by the prosecution, shows PC Marsden, who is also pointing his Taser, appear to approach the defendant who is lying on the ground and kick out at him.
Mr Birkby said: “Mr Amaaz, while prone, lifts his head towards the officers. PC Marsden kicks Mr Amaaz around the head area.
“PC Marsden stamps his foot towards the crown of Mr Amaaz’s head area but doesn’t appear to connect with Mr Amaaz.”
Amaaz denies three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm to the three police officers and one count of assault to Abdulkareem Ismaeil, the customer at Starbucks.
Amaad denies one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm to PC Marsden.
A paramedic who secretly gave a pregnant woman an abortion drug during sex has been jailed for more than 10 years.
Stephen Doohan, 33, was married when he met the woman on holiday in Spain in 2021 and began a long-distance relationship.
The High Court in Glasgow heard how the victim travelled to Edinburgh in March 2023 to visit Doohan after learning she was pregnant.
During consensual sex, Doohan twice secretly administered the tablets which led to the woman suffering a miscarriage.
In May, Doohan pleaded guilty to sexual assault and causing the woman to have an abortion. He returned to the dock on Monday where he was jailed for 10 years and six months.
Lord Colbeck said Doohan caused “long-term psychological injury” to his victim.
The judge said: “You put her through considerable pain over a number of days and left her facing a lifetime of pain and loss.”
More on Edinburgh
Related Topics:
The court heard how the woman found tablets hidden under the mattress after she became suspicious over Doohan’s behaviour in bed.
Lord Colbeck said: “The complainer then carried out an internet search for abortion tablets and confronted you over your actions.”
After the woman fell ill, Doohan convinced her to lie to medics at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh amid fears he would be arrested if she told the truth.
The victim later attended another hospital with her sister and was told she was having a miscarriage.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said Doohan sent the woman gifts including perfume, socks, facial cleansing oil, money to get her hair done and bought tickets for them to attend a football match.
The woman complained to the Scottish Ambulance Service in May 2023, sparking an investigation.
The court heard that on 14 March 2023, the day the woman told Doohan she was pregnant, the paramedic used a work intranet to search for abortion drugs.
Lord Colbeck said: “You planned out what you did to your victim using resources available to you as a paramedic.”
In addition to his prison sentence, Doohan was also added to the sex offenders’ register and banned from contacting his victim.
Fiona Kirkby, procurator fiscal for high court sexual offences, said: “Stephen Doohan’s calculated and heinous actions caused the loss of the victim’s pregnancy, robbing her of plans she had for the future.
“He has now been held accountable for this fundamental breach of trust.
“While offences like this are thankfully rare, I hope this prosecution sends a clear message to all those who seek to inflict sexual harm towards women.
“Our thoughts remain with the victim, who must be commended for reporting her experience and seeking justice.
“We recognise that reporting sexual offending can be difficult but would urge anyone affected to come forward and seek support when they feel ready to do so.”
The Scottish Ambulance Service branded it an “appalling case”.
A spokesperson added: “We recognise the courage it must have taken for the victim to come forward and speak out.
“As soon as we learned of these very serious allegations and charges, we immediately took action, providing ongoing support to her whilst liaising with Police Scotland throughout the investigation.
“We know nothing will change what has happened to the victim and all we can hope is this sentence provides some comfort to them.”
UK farmers have “nothing more to give” as they fear the government will use agriculture to further reduce US tariffs in a trade deal with the White House.
The UK is trying to reduce steel tariffs to zero, from a current reduced rate of 25%, but Downing Street refused to confirm if it was confident ahead of Donald Trump’s deadline of 9 July.
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), said UK agriculture had already been used to reduce Trump-imposed tariffs on cars but any other concessions would have serious repercussions for farmers, food security and the UK’s high animal welfare standards.
He told Sky News: “It just feels like we, as the agricultural sector, had to shoulder the responsibility to reduce the tariffs on cars from 25%.
“We can’t do it anymore, we have nothing more to give.
“It’s clear the steel quotas and tariffs aren’t sorted yet, so we just want to be very clear with the government: if they’re sitting around the negotiating table – which we understand they are – they can’t expect agriculture to give any more.”
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
Image: Tom Bradshaw, the head of the NFU, said farmers cannot give any more
‘Massively undermine our standards’
Since 30 June, the US has been able to import 13,000 tonnes of hormone-free British beef without tariffs under a deal made earlier this year, which farmers feel was to reduce the car import levy Mr Trump imposed.
The UK was also given tariff-free access to 1.4bn litres of US ethanol, which farmers say will put the UK’s bioethanol and associated sectors under pressure.
Allowing lower US food standards would “massively undermine our standards” and would mean fewer sales to the European Union where food standards are also high, Mr Bradshaw said.
It would leave British farmers competing on a playing field that is “anything but fair”, he said, because US food can be produced – and sold – much cheaper due to low welfare which could see a big reduction in investment in UK farms, food security and the environment.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
5:08
Can the UK avoid steel tariffs?
‘The US will push hard for more access’
He said the US narrative has always suggested they want access to British agriculture products “as a start and they’ll negotiate for more”.
“The narrative from the White House on 8 May, when a US-UK trade deal was announced, was all about further access to our agriculture products – it was very different to what our government was saying,” he added.
“So far, the UK has stood firm and upheld our higher welfare standards, but the US will push very hard to have further access.
“No country in the world has proved they can reduce the 10% tariffs further.”
Image: US poultry welfare is lower than the UK, with much more intensive farming that means the meat has to be washed with antimicrobials. Pic: AP
US ‘will target poultry and pork’
The Essex farmer said he expects the US to push “very hard” to get the UK to lower its standards on poultry and pork, specifically.
US poultry is often washed with antimicrobials, including chlorine, in an attempt to wash off high levels of bacteria caused by poor hygiene, antibiotic use and low animal welfare conditions not allowed in UK farming.
US pig rearing methods are also quite different, with intensive farming and the use of feed additive ractopamine legal, with both banned in the UK.
A government spokesperson told Sky News: “We regularly speak to businesses across the UK to understand the impact of tariffs and will only ever act in the national interest.
“Our Plan for Change has delivered a deal which will open up exclusive access for UK beef farmers to the US market for the first time ever and all agricultural imports coming to the UK will have to meet our high SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) standards.”