On Thursday, March 5th, according to sources cited by the Financial Times, London’s anti-terrorism police raided the residence of a web media journalist in Cardiff on Wednesday, March 4th. This operation is part of the authorities’ investigation into Chinese Communist espionage activities.
The journalist works for the Nation.Cymru website, and during the raid, the police seized the journalist’s mobile phone and laptop. The Financial Times was unable to immediately contact the journalist for comment, while Nation.Cymru declined to provide a comment.
London’s Metropolitan Police stated on Wednesday that three men were arrested on charges of assisting Beijing’s intelligence agencies. These three individuals worked as Labour Party advisers in the early 2010s. They have been released on bail and were not charged.
The Metropolitan Police mentioned that they conducted searches at the residences of the arrested individuals in London, East Kilbride, and Cardiff.
According to recent updates from the British media, the arrested individuals include David Taylor, who is the husband of Labour Party MP Joani Reid. Another person is Matthew Aplin, a former Welsh Labour press officer who currently works at the Welsh public affairs organization Camlas.
The third person is Steve Jones, a former Welsh Labour government adviser who now holds a position at Camlas.
The Financial Times reported that the journalist from Nation.Cymru website was not arrested. This journalist had previously discussed visits to China online and praised the Communist economic system while criticizing democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
The London Metropolitan Police has not responded to the search operation yet. The investigation is being conducted by London’s Counter Terrorism Command, which is part of the Metropolitan Police.
According to Wikipedia, Nation.Cymru is a Welsh news service website established in 2017. The site receives £20,000 in funding annually from the Welsh Books Council, with additional funding coming from 1,000 monthly website subscribers.