Britain is considering imposing sanctions on Chinese officials over the hacking of data of 40 million British voters

Deputy Prime Minister of United Kingdom, oliver dowdenIs set to testify before lawmakers about Chinese cyberattacks on his country and is expected to plead guilty Beijing This was the meaning of hacking the Election Commission’s network Details of 40 million voters were compromised.

The expectation is that Dowden will announce new sanctions against some officials of Xi Jinping’s regime, but that may not be enough for a faction of his party that demands greater toughness in the face of Chinese provocations. It is believed that some of these MPs were personally attacked by hackers from the Asian country.

While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labor opposition leader Keir Starmer are away from Westminster with their political agenda set this Monday, high-level complaints against Beijing are expected in London.

In an interview on the Today show, luke pulfordDirector of Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) said he wants the government to use powers under the National Security Act 2023 to label the Asian giant as a country of special risk.

The official believes that the quoted rule “has two categories of countries: countries in the developed region (which pose more risk) and countries in the political level. It is ridiculous to think about whether China will be in the developed level or not.” There is also a debate going on. I know some people in the government want China to be given that level of status. “Certainly, it should happen.”

If this measure is taken, Groups or individuals working on behalf of China in Britain will be subject to strict controls.

former leveling secretary simon clarkepublished a message on X in which he warned that Britain needs to lose its “Chinese naivety”.

He also added: “Every time we talk about a reboot, new evidence of malignant activity comes to light. Hong Kong. Uighur. Taiwan. Attack our democracy. If we blame ourselves for not seeing Putin’s true nature, why make the same mistake with Xi? he asked himself.

On your part, Energy Minister andrew bowie He responded to that claim by assuring that the government would “stop at nothing” to protect people from cyberattacks, as he believes were carried out by Beijing hackers:

He said, “The fact that this government has invested a lot of time, money and effort in ensuring our cyber security capabilities, we have built in the capacity of our intelligence and security community to be able to confront these threats. Has increased.”

Bowie insisted that a Sunak-led administration would have no hesitation in toughening its position: “We will stop at nothing to ensure that the British people, our democracy, our freedom of expression and our way of life are protected.” To be protected.”

However, words are falling short at the moment, at least until Dowden addresses the Commons, when he is expected to make an announcement that will reveal how strong the government’s response to Xi will be.