ROTHERHAM MP targeted by Chinese spies

Her House of Commons' computer was infected with an electronic hack designed to feed intelligence back to China's Ministry of State Security, the shadowy body that deploys spyware.

So why is China, through its infamous cyber network, so desperate to know what Mrs Champion is doing?

After all, she is known to have embraced that country's culture before – she was CEO of the Chinese Arts Centre in Manchester, for 12 years, before becoming Rotherham's first female MP in 2012.

There could be three reasons.

ONE: For the last five years, the South Yorkshire Labour representative has chaired the International Development Select Committee, which scrutinises international spending and Foreign Office policies, holding ministers to account.

An eye on Britain's current and future-thinking about other nations could be advantageous.

TWO: A lesser-known role undertaken by Mrs Champion (55) is perhaps of even more significant interest to the Chinese Communist Party. According to the UK Parliament website, she is a member of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, which studies Government decision-making on national security.

The group focuses on expenditure and policy "including the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund."

THREE: She chairs the British-Taiwanese All Party Parliamentary Group.

It's the most obvious reason.

China wants to reunify with Taiwan – the two have been separated since 1949 and the Pacific island and the west want to keep it that way.

Mrs Champion has warned about China's threats to democracy in Taiwan, citing Hong Kong as an example.

China won't like that.

Earlier this year, Mrs Champion revealed she had been the victim of electronic snooping in a personal post on X (formerly Twitter.)

The context had surrounded suggestions that China was expected to be exempted from the highest level of restrictions under new UK anti-spying laws.

Mrs Champion posted: "What madness is this?? I’ve had Chinese spy-wear on my parliamentary computer...and every defence briefing since becoming an MP says China & Russia are our two biggest threats!

"Now we’re exempting their spies from new national security law? "⁦

The Advertiser approached Mrs Champion for more information on the issue at the start of February, but her staff says she has been too busy to respond. So we are unable to ascertain if her data was compromised.

Certainly, MI5 will be aware of the Chinese threat to MPs.

In 2023, British intelligence agency, GCHQ, claimed Chinese state-sponsored hackers “frequently” targeted Parliamentarians.

The Guardian stated China was "almost certainly" spying on Westminster, via a "vast and sweeping" intelligence operation.

They quoted the former head of MI6 Sir Alex Younger as saying the UK should expect attempts to gain information and influence by infiltration, calling these 'an intrinsic part of the way China seeks to protect its power/'"

Other politicians who have complained about Chinese cyber attacks include former Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, (Con) Sir Iain Duncan Smith, (Con) Tim Loughton, (Con) Lord Alton of Liverpool (crossbench peer) and Stewart McDonald (SNP.)