The head of Britain's domestic security service has warned business leaders that China has been carrying out state-sponsored espionage against vital parts of the economy, The Times said Saturday.
The director-general of MI5, Jonathan Evans, wrote to 300 chief executives and security heads at banks, accountancy and legal firms, warning them they were under attack from "Chinese state organisations" via the Internet, it said. It is thought to be the first time London has directly accused Beijing of involvement in web-based espionage, the daily said.
Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown said last weekend he is due to visit China in January next year. The Times said Evans's warning, which it had seen, threatened to cast a diplomatic shadow over the trip.