The Daily Telegraph reported that the alleged operation ran between 2021 and 2024 and targeted the phones of close aides to former prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
However, senior figures who served in government during the period said they did not recognise the account and insisted they would have been informed if MI5 had uncovered evidence of a sustained surveillance operation at the heart of government.
Security Services Play Down Claims
Security sources acknowledged that China has long sought to target UK telecommunications infrastructure but played down suggestions that the alleged operation had succeeded at ministerial level.
One source said the security services had examined whether China had gained access to telecommunications metadata following revelations by US authorities that Chinese operatives had infiltrated American phone networks, enabling them to record calls remotely.
However, the source stressed that there was no evidence that the so-called “Salt Typhoon” operation had been successful in the UK.
Political Sensitivities Ahead of China Visit
The claims have surfaced ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to China this week, where the prime minister is expected to seek improved diplomatic relations and closer economic co-operation with Beijing.
Critics argue that the allegations raise serious questions about the government’s approach to China. Alicia Kearns, a shadow minister for national security and one of those previously named in the Westminster spy case, accused Labour of failing to respond robustly to hostile activity.
“How much more evidence does this government need before it stops simpering to Xi and starts defending the country?” she said, adding that the UK was “rewarding hostile acts against the state”.
Focus on Telecommunications Networks
Dakota Cary, of the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, said Chinese cyber operations have tended to focus on the underlying infrastructure of telecommunications systems rather than individual devices.
“Salt Typhoon has targeted telecoms firms and the back end of those networks so it can intercept communications between individuals,” he told the Telegraph. “We know China has a strong interest in gathering political intelligence on MPs and decision-making in British politics.”
Limits of Access to Sensitive Information
A former senior Whitehall figure said that even if officials’ phones had been compromised, access to classified material would have been extremely limited.
Government guidance requires ministers and officials to assume mobile phones may be targeted and prohibits their use for discussing sensitive or classified information, which must instead be handled through secure government systems.
Previous Phone Security Concerns
Concerns over ministerial phone security are not new. In 2022, it was reported that Liz Truss’s phone had been hacked while she was foreign secretary, with suspicion falling on Russian-linked actors.
A year earlier, Boris Johnson was advised to stop using his private mobile phone amid concerns that his number had been publicly available online. Although Johnson initially claimed this prevented him from handing over WhatsApp messages to the Covid inquiry, technical specialists later recovered the relevant data.
