Three men charged with assisting Hong Kong's intelligence service and foreign interference
Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, Matthew Trickett and Chung Biu Yuen appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court. They have all been granted bail.
Monday 13 May 2024 16:56, UK
Three men have been charged with offences under the National Security Act including assisting Hong Kong's intelligence service and foreign interference.
Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, Matthew Trickett, 37, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court this afternoon, speaking only to confirm their identities.
It is alleged that between 20 December 2023 and 2 May, Yuen, Wai and Trickett agreed to undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception that were likely to assist a foreign intelligence service.
It is also alleged that they forced entry into a UK residential address on 1 May.
During the brief hearing in court, the three men were granted bail.
District Judge Louisa Cieciora said they must abide by conditions including a 10pm to 5am curfew, reporting weekly to their local police station, not travelling internationally and informing police of devices used to access the internet.
Trickett, Yuen and Wai were charged following an investigation led by officers from the Met's counter terrorism command in which 11 people in total were detained.
Eight men and a woman were arrested by officers on 1 May in the Yorkshire area, before a man was arrested in London and another man was arrested in the Yorkshire area the following day, the force said.
The seven men and one woman who were not charged were released from custody on or before 10 May.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met's counter terrorism command, said: "A number of arrests were made and searches carried out across England as part of this investigation.
"While these offences are concerning, I want to reassure the public that we do not believe there to be any wider threat to them.
"This investigation remains ongoing, but now that charges have been brought, I urge people not to speculate or comment further in relation to this case."
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Wai, of Staines-upon-Thames, Trickett, of Maidenhead, and Yuen, of Hackney, are each charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service and with foreign interference, contrary to the National Security Act.
"The foreign intelligence service to which the above charges relate is that of Hong Kong," the Met Police said.
The Chinese embassy in London responded by saying it strongly condemns the UK's "unwarranted accusation against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government".
In a statement, it said: "The Chinese side firmly rejects and strongly condemns the UK's fabrication of the so-called case and its unwarranted accusation against the HKSAR government, and has made serious representations to the UK side on the matter.
"For some time now, the UK has staged a series of accusations against China, including those on "China spies" and cyber attacks. All those accusations are groundless and slanderous.
"It must be stressed that Hong Kong has long returned to China. Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong. The UK has no right and is in no position to point fingers at and meddle in Hong Kong affairs."
The men are next due to appear at the Old Bailey on 24 May.