Analysis: allegations solicitor tried to influence politicians signals London is scrutinising friends of Beijing
The suggestion that a British Chinese solicitor has been allegedly working on behalf of China to influence UK politics adds further evidence of the bilateral relationship mutating from a “golden era” to an “ice age”.
The latest development will clearly not help improve ties and, along with previous incidents, make the “China v the west” narrative increasingly look like an early cold war plot: suspected influence operations and – although not apparently the case here – alleged espionage as well as expulsion of personnel.
