LONDON — The Palace of Westminster is contemplating tightening parliamentary access for Chinese visitors in the wake of a collapsed spying case, according to media reports.
The Telegraph newspaper reported Sunday evening that House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle is looking to mirror measures introduced by the European Parliament, which banned lobbyists for Chinese tech company Huawei from the premises earlier this year.
The European legislature also imposed restrictions on Chinese officials entering the buildings in April 2023 after tit-for-tat sanctions were imposed over human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Those restrictions were eventually lifted earlier this year.
Speaker Hoyle discussed the situation with his European counterpart to learn how such restrictions could be practically imposed in the U.K., the Telegraph reported. Hoyle’s office did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The move comes amid intense scrutiny of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government and the Crown Prosecution Service after charges against two men — including a former researcher for a Conservative MP — accused of spying for China were dropped.
It’s not the first time Hoyle has flexed his muscles on China. Beijing’s Ambassador to the U.K. Zheng Zeguang was banned from parliament in 2021 in retaliation for China imposing sanctions on British MPs critical of the country’s human rights record.
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