Revealed: How the Chinese communists infiltrated Britain
By the author of the devastating new book even Beijing fears
The disturbing extent of infiltration of the British establishment by China is laid bare in a bombshell book serialised today in the Daily Mail.
hidden hand, written by a global authority on how the Chinese Communist Party covertly influences the West, reveals that officials have for years been cultivating contacts at the top of British politics and business.
The book claims senior politicians – on both the Right and the Left – are acting as ‘useful idiots’ to push the Chinese line at the top of government.
Many are in the 48 Group Club, a networking hub set up in the 1950s by members of the Communist Party of Great Britain.
The authors, Clive hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg, say this group is one of the most glaring examples of the way ‘Beijing courts Britain’s elites’.
Lord heseltine confirmed last night he was patron of the group but said he did not think anyone would believe he was part of a Communist conspiracy.
The book’s authors state: ‘In our judgement, so entrenched are the CCP’s influence networks among British elites that Britain has passed the point of no return, and any attempt to extricate itself from Beijing’s orbit would probably fail.’
The startling conclusion comes as Boris Johnson comes under mounting pressure to prevent Chinese tech giant huawei from participating in the creation of Britain’s 5G network.
It emerged yesterday that Jesus College, Cambridge, had accepted £200,000 from the Chinese state and £155,000 from huawei. The college produced a controversial ‘white paper’ on global communications reforms. The book claims: ■ Prominent Britons of Chinese heritage are used by the Communist regime to promote the country’s interests, and have made contacts with David Cameron, Theresa May and Mr Johnson;
■ The City of London is falling under the sway of the Chinese, including banning a Taiwan float at the Lord Mayor’s parade;
■ The children of prominent Communist party officials – known as ‘ princelings’ – are routinely given jobs in major international banks; ■ The Foreign Office has partfunded an organisation accused of helping the Communist propaganda machine to evade Western scrutiny;
■ China is increasingly employing ‘honey trap’ techniques to spy on senior figures – including one of Mr Johnson’s deputies when he was London mayor.
According to hidden hand, Beijing has been cultivating friends overseas who they see as ‘nothing more than those willing and able to promote China’s interests’.
The book says: ‘In Britain, there are many of these “useful idiots” – a term attributed to Lenin that described naive foreign enthusiasts for the Russian revolution.’ Patrons and fellows listed on the 48 Group Club’s website include former deputy PM Lord heseltine, former foreign secretary Jack Straw and former prime minister Tony Blair. The authors said: ‘The club has built itself into the most powerful instrument of Beijing’s influence and intelligence gathering in the UK. It is a who’s who of power elites’ Lord heseltine said it was merely a forum for helping sell British exports to China. Mr Straw said he went to an event in 2007 and could recall no connections with it since. A spokesman for Mr Blair said his office was unaware that he was a fellow and could see no reason why he should be.