Men on trial accused of 'shadow policing' for China on British soil

Men on trial accused of 'shadow policing' for China on British soil 22 minutes ago Share Save Daniel Sandford UK correspondent Share Save A retired Hong Kong police officer and Border Force official - who both held British passports - are accused of engaging in "shadow policing" in the UK on behalf of China, a court has heard. Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen, 65, and Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, 38, are alleged to have carried out surveillance on Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners claiming asylum in the UK. They are charged with offences under the National Security Act. Yuen is a former Hong Kong police officer who was working for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, while Wai was working for the UK Border Force, was a volunteer Special Constable with the City of London Police and used to work for the Metropolitan Police. They are accused of working with Matthew Trickett, a former British Royal Marine and UK Border Force officer, who was found dead in May 2024 after being released on bail. Opening the case for the prosecution, Duncan Atkinson KC said that Wai had misused Home Office and police computer systems to conduct searches for personal gain. This included gathering information about people from Hong Kong claiming asylum in the UK and at one point he was being paid £2,000 a month, according to the prosecution. Atkinson said: "By shadow policing operations, I mean the gathering of information about persons of interest to the Hong Kong authorities, undertaking surveillance on such persons and otherwise acting as if they were entitled, in this country, to act as a law enforcement or state intelligence service, when no such entitlement existed." He said this had coincided with "determined measures" by the Hong Kong authorities "to extend their reach beyond their jurisdiction in relation to people of interest to them". The prosecution says this included conducting surveillance on pro-democracy campaigners who had had bounties put on their heads by the Hong Kong auth...