I matched with Commons ‘spy’ on dating app – I re-read our texts and was shocked
A BRITISH parliamentary researcher arrested after being accused of spying for China matched with a Sun political reporter on a dating app.
Security chiefs are investigating whether the unnamed man in his 20s passed top secret documents to Beijing.
The man was arrested by spooks in March while working as a researcher for the China Research Group of MPs.
He is linked to senior Tory MPs including security minister Tom Tugenhat and Commons foreign affairs committee chair Alicia Kearns.
Here, Sun Political correspondent Noa Hoffman reveals her close call after matching with Mr X on dating app Hinge:
SWIPING through dating apps, you quickly learn how many weird men are out there and, importantly, how to avoid them.
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What no one prepares you for are the warning signs you could be flirting with a spy for the Chinese.
I matched with Mr X on Hinge after being impressed by his sweet profile.
He was attractive, clearly into sports and had a thriving social life.
On the app he told me he worked in Parliament, just as I do.
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We bonded over our favourite glitzy Westminster drink receptions and even dating disaster stories, which now seems ironic.
He said he worked for a high-profile organisation advising MPs on China.
He spoke passionately about how he lived in the country but was now effectively barred from returning.
And he discussed his admiration and connections to senior Tory MPs interested in the region.
We arranged to go for drinks at a swanky Covent Garden cocktail bar on multiple occasions – but at the last minute something always came up.
One time he tested positive for Covid.
"In the cruelest twist of fate, I've succumbed to Covid after two years of avoiding it," he told me.
The other I was tired and just couldn’t be bothered meeting up.
Eventually I lost interest.
But I often saw him swanning around parliament and he continued to message me and many other journalists with briefings on China and invitations to "Westminster China Policy'' socials.
MR X, who was well groomed with a big cheeky smile, was just like any other bright and attractive professional in his 20s.
That’s why my jaw dropped when I learned he’d been arrested in March on spying allegations.
If someone so seemingly normal could live a double life and lie like this – who else is doing the same? Who can we really trust?
Last night I re-read our text exchanges – and I was shocked.
When I asked him if we were “still on” for a date planned one evening, he responded: “Such as sceptic! Not without good reason to be fair.”
On another occasion I made a joke about joining his organisation.
He replied: “Be careful what you wish for.”
MPs including ex-Tory Leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith have long warned about communists infiltrating parliament.
People have brushed him and other "China hawks" off as dramatic.
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We must start taking Sir Iain and the threat of the Communist Party more seriously.
I had a lucky escape with Mr X – but what if the next person, or far more importantly, the country, doesn’t?
