Free Republic

MI5 has issued a rare warning that an alleged Chinese agent has infiltrated Parliament to interfere in UK politics. An alert from the security service said Christine Ching Kui Lee "established links" for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with current and aspiring MPs. She then gave donations to politicians, with funding coming from foreign nationals in China and Hong Kong. It comes after a "significant, long-running" investigation by MI5, Whitehall sources told the BBC. One of the MPs funded by Ms Lee was Labour's Barry Gardiner, who received over £420,000 from her in five years - but he said he...

Plans to introduce vaccine passports for access into nightclubs and large events in England will not go ahead, the health secretary has said. Health Minister Sajid Javid told the BBC: "We shouldn't be doing things for the sake of it." He said the government had looked at the evidence, adding: "I'm pleased to say we will not be going ahead." It was thought the plan, which came under criticism from venues and some MPs, would be introduced at the end of this month. No 10 stressed it would be kept "in reserve" should it be needed over autumn or winter....

In its strongest ever warning, Ofgem said there may have to be “controlled disconnections” of homes and businesses in the middle of this decade because Britain has not done enough to make sure it has enough electricity. The regulator's new analysis reveals the risk of power-cuts is almost 50 per cent in 2015 if a very cold winter causes high demand for electricity. It predicts Britain will face power shortages because old coal and oil plants are being forced to shut down under the European Union’s environmental regulations. This will partly be replaced by wind farms, but they are less...