Downing Street suffered a major security breach lasting several years as Chinese intelligence operatives hacked the mobile phones of senior government officials, including aides to former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, the Telegraph reported on Monday.
The cyberespionage operation targeted key figures at the heart of Whitehall, raising profound questions about the government's ability to protect sensitive communications at the highest levels of British politics. As they say in Westminster, 'the constitution is what happens'—precedent matters more than law. This breach represents not merely a technical failure but a fundamental challenge to how the British state conceives of national security in an era of digital warfare.
The timing of the disclosure proves particularly awkward for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has attempted to navigate a delicate path between Washington and Beijing, recently stating he would not 'choose between' the United States and China. That posture now appears increasingly untenable given the extent to which Chinese intelligence services have penetrated the machinery of British government.
The breach, which went undetected for an extended period, allowed foreign intelligence access to communications at the centre of British decision-making during critical periods including the COVID-19 pandemic response and Brexit negotiations. The full scope of what information was accessed remains unclear, with government sources declining to comment on specifics while emphasising that 'security measures have been enhanced.'
As Westminster observers know well, such breaches typically surface only after extensive damage has occurred. The revelation follows a pattern familiar from previous Chinese espionage operations targeting Western democracies, including the 2015 breach of the US Office of Personnel Management that compromised millions of security clearance files.
The Labour government now faces pressure from backbenchers to harden its stance on China, with several MPs calling for a full intelligence and security committee inquiry. The breach also raises questions about the previous Conservative government's China policy, which oscillated between engagement and confrontation without settling on a coherent strategy.
Beijing has not formally responded to the allegations, though Chinese foreign ministry spokespeople typically dismiss such claims as 'fabricated' anti-China propaganda. British intelligence agencies have been warning for years about the increasing sophistication of Chinese cyber operations, but this breach suggests those warnings went unheeded at the highest levels of government.
The incident may prove a turning point in UK-China relations, forcing London to acknowledge what security services have long argued: that Beijing views Britain not as a potential partner but as an intelligence target whose vulnerabilities should be systematically exploited.
