MI5 warns ministers about espionage threat as government departments at odds over visa rules
MI5 has warned ministers that Chinese spies are slipping into Britain by gaining citizenship through third countries and using their visa-free access to the UK, The Times can reveal.
The concerns have led the Home Office to prepare new visa restrictions on a series of countries being exploited by the Chinese, senior government sources have said.
However, the Foreign Office has been accused of blocking the move amid a tit-for-tat row on visa rules. It has led some in government to nickname James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, as “Mr Softy”. A Foreign Office source dismissed this characterisation.
MI5 has provided evidence that citizens from hostile states, including China, have entered the UK after acquiring citizenship in countries whose nationals are allowed to travel to Britain without the need for a visa.
The intelligence agency fears that this includes agents working for the Chinese state. It has also raised concerns that Russian spies could emulate the practice.
The National Crime Agency has also presented evidence that serious organised crime groups are using the so-called “cash-for-passport” schemes to smuggle people into the UK after several individuals on Interpol’s watchlist have been found using the route.
Countries that the authorities fear are being exploited by Chinese spies and organised crime groups include Vanuatu in the South Pacific, Namibia in southern Africa and Timor-Leste in southeast Asia.
These are among a growing number of countries that allow foreign nationals to acquire citizenship by investing or paying a relatively small amount of money in the country.
Unlike China, they are also on the UK’s list of countries whose citizens do not need to obtain a visa to come to Britain for up to six months.
The Home Office drew up plans to impose visa restrictions after being handed evidence that several Chinese citizens working on behalf of the state have entered the UK via these countries.
Vanuatu is seen as the most concerning route for potentially hostile state spies and criminals. Foreign nationals can become citizens within a matter of months by paying a fee of about £120,000 without even needing to set foot in the country.
The scheme was introduced as part of efforts to rebuild the country and attract foreign investment after a cyclone caused widespread disruption in 2015. More than 4,000 passports have been granted to Chinese nationals under the scheme.
A Vanuatu passport opens up visa-free tourism travel to 123 countries, compared with only 70 with a Chinese passport.
Namibia also allows foreign nationals to gain residency rights within three months with a minimum investment of about £240,000.
However, government sources said the Foreign Office has blocked the move because its efforts to lift UK visa restrictions on a list of countries including Indonesia, Thailand and Zambia have themselves been vetoed by the Home Office.
The Foreign Office wants to allow visa-free travel for tourists from the countries as part of efforts to improve relations, but the Home Office is reluctant to relax visa rules.
The Home Office believes its request should be prioritised because it involves national security concerns.
A government source said: “The Home Office and Foreign Office are fighting this one out. It keeps happening. One won’t budge without concessions from the other and we can’t seem to resolve it.
“The Home Office thinks the other is soft, and the Foreign Office thinks they’re too cautious. There’s some truth in both those arguments.”
However, a Foreign Office source downplayed suggestions of a row, insisting that the department had simply asked for the visa restrictions to be delayed.
The source said: “The normal inter-departmental discussions on this could not be credibly described as a ‘row’.
“Using appropriate and normal government channels, a plan was put to us and we responded not with any ‘block’ but a request for a short delay in only one instance. As far as we are concerned, the discussions thus far have been conducted by both departments in the appropriate way and in a normal tone that could not be characterised accurately as a ‘row’.”
However, it has not stopped Cleverly earning the nickname “Mr Softy” by some in government after he failed to resolve a dispute over attempts to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
This year, the Foreign Office blocked attempts by Suella Braverman, the home secretary, and Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, to declare it as a terrorist group.
One Whitehall official accused him of being “captured by his officials because he does whatever he tells them and never pushes back”. A Foreign Office source again dismissed the characterisation.
The Home Office said: “The government keeps the UK’s visa regime under regular review, based on the latest information and intelligence.”
Source: The Times
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