UK charges 3 men for assisting Hong Kong foreign intelligence
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The suspects are identified as Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, Matthew Trickett, 37, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, and were among 11 detained in Yorkshire and London.
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A general view of New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police on Feb. 3, 2012. (AP)
London's Metropolitan Police have captured three men in the UK now charged with collaborating with Hong Kong's intelligence service, and foreign interference.
In a statement, the Met police said, "The three men have each been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3(1) and (9) of the National Security Act 2023 and also with foreign interference, contrary to section 13(2) and (7) of the National Security Act 2023. The foreign intelligence service to which the above charges relate is that of Hong Kong".
The collaborators have been identified as Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, Matthew Trickett, 37, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, and were among 11 detained earlier this month in Yorkshire and London but the eight others had no charges filed against them, and were released from custody.
The statement added that the three suspects are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday.
In the same statement, the head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy, said that this is not tied to "a recently reported Counter Terrorism Policing investigation linked to Russia," which refers to the case in which two British men were charged under the same law after a suspected arson attack on a Ukraine-linked business.
Still, police said details of the investigation were being retracted or withheld "for operational reasons."
Read next: How Britain protects 'Israel' from war crimes charges: Declassified UK
UK aiding 'Israel' by spying over Gaza
The UK has had its fair share of committing espionage itself, especially after being caught spying over Gaza to aid "Israel" in its war.
A report published by Declassified UK on May 9 showed that the Royal Air Force (RAF) has carried out an astounding 200 surveillance flights over Gaza since December. Despite repeated requests for transparency, the UK government has chosen not to divulge specific details regarding these missions.
These flights, originating from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, amassed over 1,000 hours of surveillance footage over Gaza, pointing out to a substantial amount of monitoring efforts by British forces in the region.
Initially portrayed as assistance for ongoing rescue operations of Israeli captives, the frequency and timing of these flights have stirred suspicions of participation in military actions, according to Declassified UK.
Starting nearly two months after the captive situation emerged, there are speculations that the surveillance extends beyond rescue operations to encompass broader intelligence-gathering objectives amid the enduring war on Gaza.
The British military has even been using a number of military bases in Cyprus to conduct extensive military and intelligence activities on the island, as part of the European country's efforts to assist the occupation entity in its aggression on Gaza.
Britain maintains two "Sovereign Base Areas" on the island, Dhekelia in the east and Akrotiri in the west, which are enormous, highly covert military and intelligence complexes covering 3% of Cyprus' geography and historically used for bombing missions in the Middle East.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
