A London court on May 7 convicted a former British immigration officer and a former Hong Kong police officer for spying on Hong Kong dissidents on British soil on behalf of the Chinese regime.
Chung Biu Yuen, 65, and Chi Leung Wai, 38—both dual British and Chinese nationals—were found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service, in violation of the National Security Act 2023, according to a press release from Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service.
Wai, a former UK Border Force officer and a volunteer with the City of London Police, was also convicted of misconduct in a public office. Prosecutors said Wai used his access to the UK Home Office computer systems while off duty to collect sensitive personal data on Chinese and Hong Kong nationals living in the UK.
The court earlier heard that Yuen, a manager at Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London, was in contact with individuals linked to the Hong Kong government. He allegedly tasked Wai with carrying out spying and surveillance activities targeting Hong Kong pro-democracy activists.
Local media, including the Guardian, described the pair as the first in British history to be convicted of spying for Beijing.
In response, UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis said the government will summon the Chinese ambassador, Zheng Zeguang.
“The activities carried out by these men, on behalf of China, are an infringement of our sovereignty and will never be tolerated,” Jarvis said in a media statement following the conviction.
“We will continue to hold China to account and challenge them directly for actions which put the safety of people in our country at risk.”
Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s counterterrorism division, called their conduct “deliberate, coordinated, and carried out with full knowledge of who it would benefit.”
“These convictions send a clear message that transnational repression, foreign interference, unauthorized surveillance, and attempts to operate outside the law will not be tolerated on British soil,” David said.
After a weekslong trial in London, the jury at the Central Criminal Court was unable to reach a verdict on an additional charge of foreign interference under the National Security Act 2023 against each defendant. Both men denied the charges.
They will receive sentencing on a date to be set on May 15, according to the BBC.
‘Shadow Policing Operations’
During the trial that began in March, jurors heard that the Wai and Yuen engaged in “shadow policing operations” on British soil on behalf of Hong Kong and thereby China.
Their targets included Hong Kong dissidents who moved to the UK in recent years after Beijing imposed a draconian national security law in the former British colony.
Messages on Yuen’s phone indicated that their surveillance of Nathan Law, a former Hong Kong lawmaker and a prominent pro-democracy advocate, had started as early as 2021, according to prosecutors. Law is among more than a dozen pro-democracy advocates for whom the Hong Kong national security police have offered HK$1 million (US$127,650) bounties for information leading to the whereabouts or arrests.
Prosecutors said that Wai and Yuen’s interests extended beyond campaigners. Yuen was allegedly given a list of political figures, including Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative Party leader who co-chairs the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.
“The activity by Wai and Yuen was both sinister and chilling,” Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, which led the investigation, said in a statement on May 7. “Our investigation found they were spying for the Hong Kong authorities, targeting UK-based pro-democracy campaigners.”
“I hope this outcome provides reassurance to those living in the UK who may be concerned about being targeted by any foreign state, that we will do everything we can to help keep them safe.”
A third man, Matthew Trickett, who was accused of the same offenses as Yuen and Wai was found dead in a park near his home in May 2024, not long after the trio was charged. Trickett, 37, a former British Royal Marine, had worked as an immigration officer and private investigator.
The conviction came amid growing concerns about Chinese espionage in the country. In November 2025, MI5, the domestic intelligence agency, warned the country’s politicians that they were targets of Chinese agents.
On the day that Yuen and Wai’s trial started in March, London police announced the arrest of three individuals on suspicion of assisting the Chinese intelligence service, including David Taylor, the husband of Labor Party whip Joani Reid.
The Labor government in January approved China’s plans to build Beijing’s largest embassy in Europe in London, leading critics to accuse Prime Minister Keir Starmer of prioritizing economic ties over security risks, although UK security officials said these could be mitigated.
Chris Summers and Reuters contributed to this report.
