A Chinese spy ring has been sentenced to a combined 18 years in prison for running ‘shadow policing’ operations on British soil.
UK Border Force official Peter Wai and retired Hong Kong police officer Bill Yuen spied on Chinese dissidents in the UK and senior MPs who supported them.
In a shocking breach of national security, Wai used his privileged access to Home Office databases to supply intelligence to Beijing.
Their actions amounted to a ‘betrayal of their adopted country’, the prosecution said.
In March, the pair were found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service following a two-month trial at the Old Bailey.
Peter Wai was found guilty of running a Chinese ‘state intelligence service’ on British soil while working as a UK Border Force officer
Wai was tasked with gathering intelligence for Hong Kong authorities by Bill Yuen (pictured)
The convictions were the first relating to Chinese espionage in British history.
In a televised sentencing, judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the UK faced a ‘persistent, active and often clandestine interference by foreign state actors’ that ‘threatens not only individual victims but the sovereignty of the state’.
She said the defendants’ conduct was ‘deliberate, concerted and serious’, involving ‘shadow policing operations’, information gathering, relaying personal data, and the procurement of financial information.
‘The broad picture is one of willing sustained cooperation with service of interest ultimately alien to the safety and autonomy of the United Kingdom,’ she added.
The judge slammed Wai’s ‘arrogance’ during his evidence and said his misuse of a Home Office database while working as a UK Border Force official undermined trust in the immigration system.
Mrs Cheema-Grubb said Wai ‘repeatedly dismissed’ the importance of data protection and appeared to regard it as ‘optional’.
She said his behaviour marked a ‘serious departure from standards expected of a public servant’ and instead demonstrated a ‘pronounced sense of entitlement to do as you pleased’.
Yuen was handed an eight-year sentence for assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Wai received six years for the same offence with an additional four years for misconduct in a public office.
They will both serve at least two-thirds of their sentence.
During the trial, Wai, 41, and Yuen, 66 – both dual Chinese-British nationals – were said to be part of ‘determined measures’ by China to ‘reach beyond their jurisdiction’ and treat Britain as if it were its own backyard.
Prosecutors told how the spy ring was part of Operation Fox Hunt, a notorious campaign aimed at forcefully returning individuals to China for persecution.
As well as working for the Border Force, Wai also volunteered as a City of London special constable while living in Staines, Surrey, the court heard.
He gathered intelligence on the orders of former Hong Kong superintendent Yuen, who was the office manager at the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office (HKETO) in central London.
Targets included pro-democracy activist Nathan Law and senior Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
Yuen, 65, (left) and Wai, 41, (right) were convicted under the National Security Act 2023 following a trial at the Old Bailey
Pictured: Wai taking part in the New Years parade in London in January 2022
Wai may have been misusing police computer systems or databases as far back as 2018 to harvest names, addresses and other personal details, the Old Bailey heard.
For his part, Yuen used the Hong Kong trade office accounts to pay Wai almost £100,000 for his work, which he disbursed to a network of subcontractors.
The pair were arrested on May 1, 2024, after a botched attempt to hunt down a target, during which the shadowy unit was under the watch of MI5.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on whether the pair also engaged in foreign interference, a separate offence under the National Security Act.
Former Royal Marine Matthew Trickett was also charged as part of the spy ring, but he took his own life in a park in Maidenhead on May 19, 2024, days after he first appeared in court.
Yuen appeared for sentencing at the Old Bailey today dressed in a dark suit, with a white shirt and tie, while Wai wore an open-collared white shirt.
The hearing was delayed because Wai’s regular court clothes were lost.
His barrister, Aftab Jafferjee, explained that alternative clothing was found but it was ‘upsetting’ for his client to be sentenced in a ‘disheveled state’.
Mr Jafferjee argued that the case did not involve ‘spying in any traditional sense’ and denied it amounted to ‘a betrayal’ of Britain.
In mitigation for Yuen, Jonathan Caplan KC said his client was ‘not acting for a reward’ as he was paid a salary by the trade office.
He added that Yuen was ‘very proud’ to live in the UK and ‘thought a great deal of Great Britain’.
Security Minister Angela Eagle said: ‘These sentences send a clear message – we will not tolerate anyone breaking our laws and compromising our security to assist a foreign state.
‘We will continue to hold China to account and take action against anything that puts the safety of people in our country at risk. This includes the Hong Kong Police Force’s use of arrest warrants and bounties, which encourage illegal behaviour on UK soil.
‘This case has shown the strength of our powers under the National Security Act to crack down on hostile activity, and the consequences are clear – when you’re caught, you will face a long time behind bars.’
Frank Ferguson, head of the special crime and counter terror division at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘These convictions send a clear message that transnational repression, foreign interference, unauthorised surveillance, and attempts to operate outside the law will not be tolerated on British soil.’
Helen Flanagan, commander for Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: ‘The activity of Wai and Yuen was truly chilling.
‘They were spying and targeting individuals in the UK who were pro-democracy campaigners and were simply protesting against the Hong Kong and Chinese government and authorities and seeking sanctuary in the UK.’
